Russia enters the race for cosmic energy

Source: Russia & India Report

A new space race between Russia, the U.S., and Japan is in the cards. Russian scientists have announced their intention to develop a space-based solar power station, which could be used to transmit energy to Earth.

The United States and Japan are currently both working on projects to build solar power stations in space. Meanwhile, Russia has thrown down the gauntlet to both East and West, announcing plans to put the country’s best brains to work on its own cosmic energy venture.

Vitaly Melnikov is an official representative of the Central Research Institute of Machine Building (TSNIIMASH). “The plan is to arrange a kind of cosmic cluster around the project, which will include companies inside the industry, electronics firms, and universities,” Melnikov announced, speaking at the International Aerospace Congress.

<snip>

Melnikov says that a “working prototype of an SSPS with a capacity of 100 kW is already in development.” TSNIIMASH has not specified how the Russian space station will differ from its American or Japanese counterparts, but experts point out that all three projects are similar in concept. Special apparatuses in geostationary orbit will concentrate solar radiation and directly convert the energy into electricity. The energy will be transferred to Earth using a laser or microwave transmitter. The Russian team is likely to opt for the laser method: to begin with, it is safer; secondly, the technology is already being developed by Energia Rocket and Space Corporation and Lavochkin Research and Production Association.

<snip>

Read more: http://indrus.in/articles/2012/09/03/russia_enters_the_race_for_cosmic_energy_17369.html