Space-Based Solar Power is a Nascent Space Tech Application, but SpaceX is Changing the Cost Equation in its Favor

As 2024 drew to a close, the recently rebranded Space Tech team has opted to write a “space tech-oriented” ABI Insight. Many ABI Insights, to date, have been on Satellite Communications (SatCom)—a very effective utilization of space—but a number of novel technologies are on the cusp of commercialization. ABI Research will be pushing our research efforts in these sectors. This ABI Insight focuses on Space-Based Solar Power (SBSP), previously covered in “Are Solar Energy Transmissions from Satellites the Next Frontier for Renewable Energy?” as momentum is building in this sector. In 4Q 2024, both companies dedicated to SBSP, Aetherflux (United States) and Space Solar (United Kingdom), have joined a growing field of budding SBSP solution providers:

• Aetherflux: In October 2024, the firm declared its intentions to develop and ultimately deploy a constellation of satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) that will collect solar power and beam it to Earth using Infrared (IR) lasers. The company plans to launch a small satellite demo by early 2026. Rather than a large surface area solar collector, Aetherflux's strategy relies on an incremental constellation of smaller satellites in LEO that can grow over time. Also, the SBSP provider plans to use IR lasers to transmit the converted solar to electrical power to a ground-based receiver (approximately 10 square meters in size). The spacecraft bus is manufactured by Apex (United States) and can transmit potentially Kilowatts (kW) of power to Earth. Aetherflux is targeting the government defense sector, such as forward operating bases where the challenges of arranging the supply of fuel or electricity may be highly constrained.
• Space Solar: More recently, Space Solar announced intentions to be operational by 2030 with an initial capacity of 30 Megawatts (MW). The spacecraft bus, which can operate in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO), Highly Elliptical Orbit (HEO), and Geosynchronous Orbit (GSO), will start at 60 tonnes and have a 400-Meter (m) diameter solar collector. The collected solar energy would be transmitted to Earth as a microwave beam (e.g., in the 5.8 Gigahertz (GHz) band). The ground station (a.k.a. a rectenna) will have an initial diameter of 1 Kilometer (km), but could require up to 4 km for later configurations that could support power delivery in the 600 Megawatt (MW) range. The deployed spacecraft, with its unfurled solar panels, would dwarf the International Space Station (ISS) at 110 meters or even terrestrial man-made objects such as the Eiffel Tower (300 meters), but the company is confident the spacecraft bus could be remarkably launched in a “single” SpaceX Starship launch. It is estimated that 30 MW can provide electricity to around 9,000 U.S. homes. Space Solar also has a committed first customer, Reykjavík Energy in Iceland.

There is a lot to unfold here. These are two very innovative companies, but, in fact, the SBSP concept has been evaluated and tinkered with since the mid-1970s—pretty much since the first solar panels were deployed on spacecraft. SBSP concepts have been researched by companies and government agencies in China, Japan, India, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Converting solar energy to usable forms of energy in space does have significant merits:

• Solar power can be collected pretty much 24/7.
• The amount of solar energy connected per square centimeter is 10X compared to ground level, as the atmosphere, water droplet, and pollution scatter the light before reaching the ground.
• The delivery of the wireless power could be redirected to additional or multiple locations with minimal effort.

On the flip-side, there are hurdles to overcome:

• While water and vegetation (even animal) damage would be mitigated, the equipment has to be hardened to the consequences of space junk, micro-meteorites, and cosmic rays/solar flares that can damage the electrical and/or structural integrity of the SBSP spacecraft.
• The logistical effort to achieve the successful launch and deployment of a decent-sized solar energy collector into orbit.
• The economic cost of getting the SBSP spacecraft into orbit remains a challenge.

There is a lot to unfold here. These are two very innovative companies, but, in fact, the SBSP concept has been evaluated and tinkered with since the mid-1970s—pretty much since the first solar panels were deployed on spacecraft. SBSP concepts have been researched by companies and government agencies in China, Japan, India, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Converting solar energy to usable forms of energy in space does have significant merits:

• Solar power can be collected pretty much 24/7.
• The amount of solar energy connected per square centimeter is 10X compared to ground level, as the atmosphere, water droplet, and pollution scatter the light before reaching the ground.
• The delivery of the wireless power could be redirected to additional or multiple locations with minimal effort.

On the flip-side, there are hurdles to overcome:

• While water and vegetation (even animal) damage would be mitigated, the equipment has to be hardened to the consequences of space junk, micro-meteorites, and cosmic rays/solar flares that can damage the electrical and/or structural integrity of the SBSP spacecraft.
• The logistical effort to achieve the successful launch and deployment of a decent-sized solar energy collector into orbit.
• The economic cost of getting the SBSP spacecraft into orbit remains a challenge.