My post earlier this month, “A Step Closer to Unlimited Power“, got a strong reaction from you. Lots of comments that pointed out that solar power beamed from space was a stupid idea, that it was essentially a weapon and no one would put a weapon like that in space, where it could attack any point on Earth.
Idealism really isn’t practical, it seems.
So I was startled to see that the Japanese are going ahead with their own test, next year. Reported by Space.com, the Japanese will demonstrate the process of beaming solar power to the Earth’s surface, although this demonstration involves only 1 kilowatt of power — about enough to run a dishwasher for an hour.
But it seems the idea of solar power harvested in space isn’t going away.
The last Ptolemy Lane tale, The Return of the Peacemaker, now out!