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While also significantly increasing the energy input of the earth.

voodootrucker 6y ago
With starship costs possibly being ~ $20/kg, some quick math says you could pull existing solar panels up from earth at ~ $100/kilowatt [1]. For comparison, it looks like installation on a house costs about $2500/kw [3]. It's no short-term thing, but it's the kind of thing that I might get to see in my lifetime. And it's certainly something that should get engineers excited, even if it's just considering what's theoretically possible. Also, as the 2nd video notes, though it does send more heat through to earth, it's trivial in comparison to greenhouse effects, which are the kind of things this could mitigate, not just by cutting down on greenhouse gas emissions, but by providing enough cheap energy to make carbon capture feasible. [1] https://www.inverse.com/article/60712-spacex-starship-elon-musk-outlines-cost-for-launches https://www.inverse.com/article/60712-spacex-starship-elon-m... [2] https://www.spectrolab.com/DataSheets/Panel/panels.pdf https://www.spectrolab.com/DataSheets/Panel/panels.pdf [3] https://modernize.com/solar/panel-cost-calculator#:~:text=Solar%20panel%20installation%20costs%20around,%2424%2C552%20in%20total%20installation%20costs https://modernize.com/solar/panel-cost-calculator#:~:text=So....
- pjc50 6y ago
  How long does a kilogram of solar cells in orbit have to operate in order to pay back the energy required to put it into orbit?
  - voodootrucker 6y ago
    Doing some really sketchy math on Wolfram alpha: 500 years :( Edit: 500 days. Don't trust me with math.
- imtringued 6y ago
  Space based solar is obviously several decades away. It's so obvious it doesn't have to be said. While I don't think using the energy on earth is a good idea I'm sure it would work out for space based manufacturing. If you can send the silicon modules to space and manufacture the rest onsite you could probably make it economical.
adrianN 6y ago
"Significantly" is a pretty bold claim. Earth gets insane amounts of solar power, a few hundred extra square kilometers of panels in space won't make much of a difference.

With starship costs possibly being ~ $20/kg, some quick math says you could pull existing solar panels up from earth at ~ $100/kilowatt [1]. For comparison, it looks like installation on a house costs about $2500/kw [3]. It's no short-term thing, but it's the kind of thing that I might get to see in my lifetime. And it's certainly something that should get engineers excited, even if it's just considering what's theoretically possible. Also, as the 2nd video notes, though it does send more heat through to earth, it's trivial in comparison to greenhouse effects, which are the kind of things this could mitigate, not just by cutting down on greenhouse gas emissions, but by providing enough cheap energy to make carbon capture feasible. [1] https://www.inverse.com/article/60712-spacex-starship-elon-musk-outlines-cost-for-launches https://www.inverse.com/article/60712-spacex-starship-elon-m... [2] https://www.spectrolab.com/DataSheets/Panel/panels.pdf https://www.spectrolab.com/DataSheets/Panel/panels.pdf [3] https://modernize.com/solar/panel-cost-calculator#:~:text=Solar%20panel%20installation%20costs%20around,%2424%2C552%20in%20total%20installation%20costs https://modernize.com/solar/panel-cost-calculator#:~:text=So....

pjc50 6y ago
How long does a kilogram of solar cells in orbit have to operate in order to pay back the energy required to put it into orbit?
- voodootrucker 6y ago
  Doing some really sketchy math on Wolfram alpha: 500 years :( Edit: 500 days. Don't trust me with math.
imtringued 6y ago
Space based solar is obviously several decades away. It's so obvious it doesn't have to be said. While I don't think using the energy on earth is a good idea I'm sure it would work out for space based manufacturing. If you can send the silicon modules to space and manufacture the rest onsite you could probably make it economical.

adrianN 6y ago

"Significantly" is a pretty bold claim. Earth gets insane amounts of solar power, a few hundred extra square kilometers of panels in space won't make much of a difference.