Star Catcher Industries, a startup designing spacecraft to beam solar energy to other LEO satellites, has secured funding from Florida’s economic development agency to demonstrate the technology at a former Space Shuttle landing site.

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While Congress debates incremental changes to our energy policy, China is racing to secure perhaps the most transformative energy technology since nuclear power: the ability to beam limitless solar energy […]

The post America must win the race for space solar power — or buy it from China appeared first on SpaceNews.

Former Made In Space CEO Andrew Rush teamed up earlier this year with Michael Snyder, Made In Space co-founder and former chief engineer, and space investor Bryan Lyandvert to establish Star Catcher.

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Silicon Valley startup Orbital Composites and Michigan-based Virtus Solis plan to conduct a 2027 space-based solar power demonstration.

The post Orbital Composites and Virtus Solis announce space-based solar power demonstration appeared first on SpaceNews.

Advocates of space-based solar power are criticizing a NASA report that offered a skeptical assessment of that technology’s ability to provide low-cost green energy.

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With commitment and investment, space-based solar power could become feasible and help reduce the world's carbon emissions.

The post NASA study: clean, space-based solar power beaming is possible appeared first on SpaceNews.

The head of the European Space agency says he hopes to have a “zero debris” policy for European spacecraft in place in the next few years, an approach he says he would like to see expanded globally.

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Northrop Grumman has completed ground-based tests to demonstrate critical technology required for a 2025 demonstration of space-based solar power.

The post Northrop Grumman clears key hurdle for space-based solar power appeared first on SpaceNews.

China intends to use its newly-completed Tiangong space station to test key technologies required for space-based polar power.

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While concepts for space-based solar power plants have been around for decades, the economics have not added up. That could be changing with the advent of renewable rockets and advancing in-orbit assembly capabilities.

The post Connecting the Dots | Regulating space power plants appeared first on SpaceNews.

To prepare Europe for future decision making on Space-Based Solar Power, ESA has proposed a preparatory programme for Europe, initially named SOLARIS, for the upcoming ESA Council at Ministerial Level […]

The post SOLARIS: Preparing for Space-Based Solar Power appeared first on SpaceNews.

The European Space Agency will seek funding this fall for a feasibility study of space-based solar power, the latest sign of support for a concept that still faces significant technical and financial challenges.

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Attending the International Space Development Conference, the annual conference of the National Space Society, can feel like stepping back in time.

The post Foust Forward | This time is different. Maybe. appeared first on SpaceNews.

China's Xidian University has completed what it calls the world’s first full-link and full-system ground test system for space-based solar power.

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China is planning solar power generation and transmission tests at different orbital altitudes over the next decade as part of a phased development of a space-based solar power station.

The post China aims for space-based solar power test in LEO in 2028, GEO in 2030 appeared first on SpaceNews.

NASA is starting a study to reexamine the viability of space-based solar power, a long-touted solution to providing power from space that may be getting new interest thanks to technological advances and pushes for clean energy.

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Space-based solar power is an idea that has been studied for decades. But even though the United States was a pioneer in this technology, government interest in taking it from the lab to orbit has been tepid at best. The U.S. military is now trying to revive the effort.

The post On National Security | Solar power from space: Will it ever get off the ground? appeared first on SpaceNews.

A satellite solar panel designed by Northrop Grumman to harvest energy in space to be beamed back to Earth performed successfully in lab tests, AFRL announced Dec. 21

The post AFRL and Northrop Grumman test key hardware for space-based solar power experiment appeared first on SpaceNews.

The National Natural Science Foundation of China has outlined a five-year project for researchers to study the assembly of ultra-large spacecraft.

The post China researching challenges of kilometer-scale ultra-large spacecraft appeared first on SpaceNews.

Hefty technological obstacles remain, but space-based solar power’s potential to provide clean, inexhaustible energy warrants a concerted public research and development effort.

The post Op-ed | It’s time to seriously consider space-based solar power appeared first on SpaceNews.