China wants to build a Solar Power Station in Space

Ever heard of a Dyson Sphere? Well, it is a hypothetical megastructure that completely surrounds a star and captures a large percentage of its power output. It is believed that advanced civilizations in the universe build such large structures to meet their energy requirements.

Artists concept of a Dyson Sphere (Credit: Public Domain art by capnhack)

It turns out that China is now taking a small step to boost the level of the human civilization. China’s Academy of Space Technology is working on a solar power plant that would capture solar energy while orbiting Earth and beam it back to the planet.

The advantage of having such a solar power plant is that it can collect solar energy without being interrupted by the clouds.

Image Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center

It is still not clear how the plant would beam back all the energy to Earth. The scientists working on the project are yet to arrive at a solution. One possible way this can be done is: collecting solar energy and then beaming it back to Earth in the form of a microwave or a laser.

Image: NASA

China plans to launch a test facility before 2025 and if the launch goes well, it will launch bigger and more powerful facilities around 2050. China is already working on nuclear fusion reactors and with this announcement, it seems that China wants to increase the consumption of renewable and other clean energy sources in the future.

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