3 ms·

I don't understand that logic. The difference between the ground and orbit is not so great when compared to an entire AU. There isn't that much more W/m^2 to

I don't understand that logic. The difference between the ground and orbit is not so great when compared to an entire AU. There isn't that much more W/m^2 to be gathered. The only advantage seems to be, in some imagined configurations, you might be able to keep the panel lit close to 24 hours a day. The huge disadvantage that is never mentioned is heat disposal under those conditions. If you keep your panel illuminated constantly, then how, in a vacuum, are you going to send the heat overboard? This article doesn't even try to mention this fact. Particularly when other infographic-heavy publications love to point out that with just a small solar farm in the African desert, we could power the entire planet. So.. if that's true, why are we even _pondering_ orbital power stations? Just to up the difficulty by a factor of 100x for gains that are almost impossible to achieve commercially? I get that people are concerned about the climate and are willing to do a lot in service of it, but this entire idea is absurd.

philipkglass 4y ago
The huge disadvantage that is never mentioned is heat disposal under those conditions. If you keep your panel illuminated constantly, then how, in a vacuum, are you going to send the heat overboard? The heat has to be radiated away, just as solar assemblies on current geosynchronous satellites radiate it away. "The Solar Array Photovoltaic Assembly For The INSAT 4CR Spacecraft: Design, Development And In-Orbit Performance" https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Sankaran-Muthusamy/publication/291742587_The_solar_array_photovoltaic_assembly_for_the_INSAT_4CR_spacecraft_design_development_and_in-orbit_performance/links/58ba79be92851c471d4ef7d5/The-solar-array-photovoltaic-assembly-for-the-INSAT-4CR-spacecraft-design-development-and-in-orbit-performance.pdf https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Sankaran-Muthusamy/publ... Table 1 shows equilibrium solar cell operating temperatures in geosynchronous orbit. They're in the range of 49 to 54 degrees Celsius.
- akira2501 4y ago
  I don't think pondering the performance a satellite bus that only provides 3000 watts attached to 4700 lbs of mass is a particularly useful comparison here. This proposal expects that solar concentrators will be used, and even your own data suggests this idea would not be useful without them.

philipkglass 4y ago

The huge disadvantage that is never mentioned is heat disposal under those conditions. If you keep your panel illuminated constantly, then how, in a vacuum, are you going to send the heat overboard? The heat has to be radiated away, just as solar assemblies on current geosynchronous satellites radiate it away. "The Solar Array Photovoltaic Assembly For The INSAT 4CR Spacecraft: Design, Development And In-Orbit Performance" https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Sankaran-Muthusamy/publication/291742587_The_solar_array_photovoltaic_assembly_for_the_INSAT_4CR_spacecraft_design_development_and_in-orbit_performance/links/58ba79be92851c471d4ef7d5/The-solar-array-photovoltaic-assembly-for-the-INSAT-4CR-spacecraft-design-development-and-in-orbit-performance.pdf https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Sankaran-Muthusamy/publ... Table 1 shows equilibrium solar cell operating temperatures in geosynchronous orbit. They're in the range of 49 to 54 degrees Celsius.

akira2501 4y ago
I don't think pondering the performance a satellite bus that only provides 3000 watts attached to 4700 lbs of mass is a particularly useful comparison here. This proposal expects that solar concentrators will be used, and even your own data suggests this idea would not be useful without them.