Citizens for Space Based Solar Power

Category: education

  • Live Event: Space Based Solar Power

    Live Event: Space Based Solar Power

    On August 14, 2025, I joined a SpaceNews live webinar on space-based solar power (SBSP). This panel discussion brought together some of the most experienced voices in the SBSP field.

    Over the course of an hour, the panel made a compelling case that SBSP, once the stuff of science fiction, is now within reach, thanks to dramatic drops in launch costs, advances in mass production, and maturing in-space assembly capabilities. They explored different technical pathways, financing and regulatory hurdles, and the enormous humanitarian and economic potential of delivering clean, 24/7 energy from space to anywhere on Earth.

    I believe the moment for space-based solar power has truly arrived. With bold action from all of us, we can help light the way to a cleaner, more resilient planet. – Rob Mahan

    You can watch the entire event here. I have summarized the panelist’s main points below.

    Event Summary

    SpaceNews hosted a live webinar on August 14, 2025, moderated by Jason Rainbow, featuring four prominent voices in the space-based solar power (SBSP) field:

    • John Mankins – Mankins Space Technology, SPS-Alpha inventor
    • Martin Soltau – Space Solar (UK)
    • Colby Carrier – Aetherflux
    • Karen Jones – The Aerospace Corporation

    The discussion highlighted why SBSP is closer to reality than ever: dramatic launch cost reductions, advances in mass production, and maturing in-space assembly. The panelists explored competing architectures (microwave vs. laser), early market opportunities, financing challenges, safety/regulatory issues, and the transformative global potential of 24/7 clean power from space.

    Main Points by Panelist

    John Mankins

    • Why Now: Reusable rockets have dropped launch costs from ~$20,000/kg to potentially under $100/kg; mass production of space hardware is now <$1,000/kg.
    • SPS-Alpha Concept: Hyper-modular geostationary platform made of over 1 million small modules; uses proven solar, reflector, and microwave transmission technology. No new physics is required.
    • Regulatory Notes: Microwaves need spectrum allocation via ITU; lasers pose eye safety and siting concerns.
    • Humanitarian Potential: One satellite can beam power to wealthy regions, and within seconds, be switched to beaming power to developing regions, providing disaster relief and energy equity.

    Martin Soltau

    • Economics & Orbits: High-orbit systems offer highest utilization for grid-scale power but require billions in early investment; financing roadmap is as critical as technology.
    • Global Need: Energy demand may quadruple in 25 years; weather-dependent renewables face mineral, cost, and land limitations. SBSP offers low carbon footprint, high scalability, and affordability.
    • Early Markets: Polar research stations, remote islands, data centers, off-grid industry, and underserved communities.
    • Public Support: Strong once safety and siting are explained; SBSP is seen as vital to reliable, abundant, clean energy.

    Colby Carrier

    • Aetherflux Strategy: Low Earth Orbit (LEO) laser-based constellation targeting military needs for dispersed, resilient, mobile power.
    • Laser Advantages: Small, precise beams for portable receivers; harder for adversaries to target; suits rapidly redeployed ground forces.
    • Iteration Speed: Lower launch costs enable quick technology refinement.
    • Safety Measures: Laser safety officer on Aetherflux staff; beam cutoff systems; early regulator engagement.

    Karen Jones

    • Market Landscape:
      • Solution Providers – Focused on space-to-Earth SBSP (e.g., Aetherflux).
      • Incrementalists – Start with space-to-space power beaming to build capability.
      • Skeptics/Competitors – Advocate other energy tech but may become SBSP partners.
    • Safety & Public Trust: Microwaves at proposed wavelengths are non-ionizing; but public concerns must be addressed head-on, as the cellular phone industry did.
    • Spectrum Constraint: Allocation will shape future architectures.

    Additional Insights

    • Financing is the bottleneck, not the physics. Starship could cut deployment launches from hundreds to a dozen, slashing energy costs by >10x.
    • Resilience: Hyper-modular designs can survive damage; constellations of modules can scatter like schools of fish, complicating attacks.
    • Dual Use Concerns: RF systems are inherently difficult to weaponize due to low energy density designs; all platforms will be highly visible and open to international inspection.
    • Public Action: Panelists encouraged citizens to press investors, pension funds, and elected officials to support SBSP initiatives.

    Space-based solar power is no longer an abstract concept tucked away in research papers—it’s a tangible solution within our grasp. The technology is ready, the need is urgent, and the benefits are global. What we lack is the unified will to make it happen. If each of us, citizens, innovators, investors, and policymakers, speaks up, demands progress, and supports the pioneers in this field, we can accelerate the shift from vision to reality. The sunlight is already waiting above us, streaming down in abundance. It’s time we reached up, captured it, and shared its power with the world.

  • STP180 – Can Space Based Solar Power Save the Planet

    STP180 – Can Space Based Solar Power Save the Planet

    This recent Space and Things podcast featuring John Mankins is an excellent all-around introduction to space based solar power (SBSP) and its game changing, clean energy potential.

    For those who may not be familiar, John C. Mankins is a former NASA physicist known for his ongoing work on space-based solar power. Along with explaining the fundamental of SBSP in easy-to-understand language, Mankins made a point I would like to highlight.

    • Unlike nuclear power plants, SBSP will be a switchable baseload power source. SBSP will be able to take the place of natural gas and other fossil fuel fired generation now being used to supplement terrestrial solar and wind power when nighttime or weather interrupt their outputs. The combination of space-based and terrestrial solar power will be a 100% clean, baseload power source.

    Mankins also had some astute observations about the most recent NASA report on SBSP, published on January 11, 2024 from the Office of Technology, Policy, and Strategy.

    • Energy for Earth is not one of NASA’s four current missions
    • The report has a very reasonable charter at the beginning.
    • The analyses contained in the report utilize excellent, rigorous methodologies.
    • The report has some extraordinarily reasonable findings and recommendations at the end.
    • But … the assumptions that went into that model were weird. The assumptions were unreasonably pessimistic, leading to astronomically high predictions of the cost per kWh from SBSP.
    • There is a one-line caveat included in the report that says if all of our assumptions turn out better than we have assumed, the cost of a kWh from SBSP will be about three cents.

    Needless to say, you should read the report for yourself (linked above) and come to your own conclusions about its assumptions, charter, analyses, findings, and recommendations. Keep in mind the fact that energy for Earth is not one of NASA’s four current missions.

  • It’s Always Sunny in Space

    It’s Always Sunny in Space

    After listening to Can Science Save Us?, a conversation with Sir Martin Rees on the Michael Schermer Show, I wrote both Dr. Schermer and Lord Rees with the intention of telling them about space-based solar power (SBSP), which was not mentioned in the podcast. As a result, I was invited to write an article about SBSP for the current issue of Skeptic Magazine v28.2: Energy Matters. My article, ‘It’s Always Sunny in Space,’ is reprinted here with permission from Skeptic Magazine.

    Copyright: ESA & NASA/Solar Orbiter/EUI team; Data processing: E. Kraaikamp (ROB)

    This is the highest resolution image of the Sun’s full disc and outer atmosphere (the corona) ever taken, as seen by Solar Orbiter in extreme ultraviolet light from a distance of nearly 47 million miles. This stellar image is a mosaic of 25 photographs taken on March 7, 2022 by the high resolution telescope of the Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (EUI) instrument. An image of Earth is included for scale, in the upper right corner of the illustration.

    A tremendous thermonuclear furnace, our Sun radiates about 134,000 terawatts (TW) of continuous power to Earth’s surface, about 7000 times more than the entire population of humankind consumes from all current sources of energy.

    It’s Always Sunny in Space

    Why space-based solar power is a viable source of energy.

    by Rob Mahan

    Advances in human civilization have always been fueled by the availability of excess energy in various forms. For the vast span of human history, energy from the Sun was converted to food and biomass by photosynthesis and expended in the forms of muscle power and fire. Energy from the Sun produced weather, and as a result, wind- and water power were eventually harnessed and converted into increased levels of societal organization.

    When humans began to extract massive amounts of energy from plant-based fossil fuels—which originated millions of years ago, through photosynthesis driven by energy from the Sun—further technological complexity, economic surplus that freed increasing numbers from manual labor, and human population all exploded. Gasoline-powered, mass-produced automobiles represented freedom in the form of personal transportation. Electricity became an efficient way to deliver energy to homes and businesses, and eventually to power a global information network. Growth was good, and seemed unstoppable, at least to those with easy access to abundant energy.

    More recently, science and rationality have led us to a stark realization. Year-over-year economic growth, driven by the ever-increasing consumption of finite natural resources to produce abundant energy and other goods, has proven unsustainable. Coupled with concerns about climate change resulting from the release of excessive carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, three broad future scenarios emerge:

    • Continue the current, unsustainable trend of natural resource extraction, energy consumption, and economic growth, and let natural processes dictate the next era in human history.
    • Based on current and past technologies, voluntarily and drastically reduce global energy consumption and revert much of humankind to the previous era of muscle, wind, and water power.
    • Develop new technologies and find cleaner, renewable, or unlimited forms of abundant energy, while becoming better stewards of the finite natural resources that remain.

    If the third scenario is the most appealing to you—as it is to me—and almost all forms of energy harnessed by humankind throughout history originated with energy from the Sun, doesn’t it make sense to look directly to the source in our quest to find a clean, unlimited source of energy for all of humanity going forward?

    What does “space-based solar power” mean?

    Space-based solar power (SBSP) refers to the concept of collecting the Sun’s energy in space and then transmitting it to Earth for use as a baseload renewable energy source. This involves putting solar panels in orbit around the Earth to continuously collect energy from the Sun. The energy is transferred to receiving antennas (rectennas) on Earth as microwave or laser beams, converted to electrical energy, and then sent to consumers through the existing power distribution grid. The goal of SBSP is to provide practically unlimited clean energy that is not subject to weather conditions or night-day cycles; energy that is available 24/7/365, anywhere on the planet.

    Before we delve into the details and challenges around space-based solar power, let’s take a brief step back in time to see how humanity got where we are today, and how we may soon be consuming the equivalent amount of energy in 150 billion barrels of oil every year.

    How much energy is globally consumed by humankind?

    It took the first three million years of evolution for the world population to reach one billion of us. Over the past 220 years, fueled by advances in medicine, nutrition, and a massive glut of cheap energy from the worldwide fossil fuel industry, the world population has exploded to over eight billion humans. The United Nations estimates that the world population will expand to over ten billion by the year 2100.1 In the developing economies of emerging nations, particularly in Asia, per capita energy consumption is increasing as people seek better lives for themselves and their families.

    Driving—or driven by—economic and population growth, worldwide energy consumption also exploded over the past two centuries, and with it, energy-related carbon dioxide emissions. The Enerdata World Energy & Climate Statistics lists the 2021 global total energy consumption as 14,555 million tons of oil equivalent (Mtoe), or for comparison purposes, the equivalent of about 169,277 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electrical energy. For 2021, the global electricity generation is listed as 28,433 TWh of electrical energy, or about 16.8% of the global total energy consumption.2

    A mid-range scenario presented in the Enerdata Global Energy & Climate Outlook 2050 assumes policies that will lead to a global temperature rise between …

    Click here to read the entire article in PDF format.

  • Energy from Outer Space: A SSP Course on Udemy.com

    This is the first of several course preview videos available at
    https://www.udemy.com/course/space-solar-power/

    The course author, John Clarkson, contacted me through C-SBSP to make me aware of this online course about space-based solar power. I have purchased the course and completed the 1-1/2 hours of included lectures on a broad range of SBSP-related topics. Many other learning resources are also included.

    I have concluded that this course would be worthwhile to anyone seeking a solid introduction into the following topics from the course outline:

    • Space Based Solar Power (SBSP)
    • How SBSP works
    • What are its major advantages and drawbacks of SBSP?
    • Which nations are developing SBSP and why?
    • An idea of what it costs to get SBSP into orbit
    • Rockets, how they work, with some mathematics
    • Orbital mechanics and how this is relevant to SSP
    • Wider future market opportunities for SBSP, including direct and indirect markets both new and to be developed
    • Why SBSP will be an investment in the future
    • SBSP weapons – Are they feasible? Can we make them safe?
    • A wider knowledge of the economics of energy and how SBSP can change it

    Energy from Outer Space on Udemy.com

    Read more about the course author, John Clarkson, along with this and other related courses at his website, Future of Energy College.

  • SBSP: For Future Generations

  • China: The Long March 9 and Long Term Planning

    President Kennedy Addresses Congress May 25, 1961
    (Photo from NASA Commons on Flickr)

    China plans to use a new super heavy-lift rocket currently under development to construct a massive space-based solar power station in geostationary orbit.

    by Andrew Jones in June 28, 2021 Space News

    The American four-year political cycle dissipates tremendous amounts of energy and opportunity like so much waste heat. Right, wrong or indifferent, when the first acts of every new administration are to undo the efforts of the previous administration in some made-for-television show of power and bravado, truly important projects like space-based solar power (SBSP), which require long-term planning and commitment, may literally never get off the ground for the citizens of the United States.

    Without the authority to enter into international treaties, the private sector probably can’t implement SBSP on its own. Without the incentive to plan and execute outside of the four-year political cycle, the government probably can’t implement SBSP on it’s own.

    Does logic suggest that a public-private partnership will be required to develop and implement SBSP for Americans? Do we have to rely on Congress to create that partnership? Spurring Congress to that meaningful action might fall on the shoulders of all Citizens for Space Based Solar Power.

    Read the full Space News article:
    China’s super heavy rocket to construct space-based solar power station

  • NSS: “Dear Earth”

    Dear Earth: We’re Sorry for What We’ve Done to You…

    The National Space Society announced today its “Dear Earth” campaign for space solar power has been named in the Best of Social Media category in the 42nd Annual Telly Awards.

    https://space.nss.org/

    It has long been C-SBSP’s assertion that Earth-found fuels–carbon-based, uranium, thorium, etc.–are all finite natural resources that will one day be more costly to extract than the value of the energy they will yield. On a planetary time scale, or even the time scale of humankind, when that day comes is practically irrelevant. If we are not prepared when that day does inevitably arrive, civilization as we know it, and perhaps even the existence of humankind, will no longer be sustainable.

    To once again restate the obvious, the Sun is our virtually unlimited source of abundant, clean energy. The only question that remains is how best to harvest energy from the Sun to provide sustainable baseload power on a planetary scale. In C-SBSP’s opinion, the answer is space-based solar power (SBSP), with the following conditions:

    • SBSP development and deployment must be done with the agreement, cooperation and participation of all space-faring nations, for the common good of all humankind.
    • Given the potential century-level project timeline, conventional political cycles and economic models must be superseded.
    • SBSP must utilize off-planet manufacturing, construction and maintenance.
    • SBSP must harvest and utilize off-planet materials and resources.

  • Power Beaming & Space Solar Innovation by Dr. Paul Jaffe, PhD

    Move energy, not mass.

    This hour-long presentation by Dr. Paul Jaffee, PhD, of the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory on July 30, 2020 is a comprehensive look at the past, present and future of power beaming and space based solar power. Power beaming is an integral part of space based solar power, and also has standalone terrestrial and space-based applications.

    This video was livestreamed by the Homeland Defense & Security Information Analysis Center (HDIAC). The original podcast and links to additional resources highlighted by Dr. Jaffe may be found at:

    https://www.hdiac.org/podcast/power-beaming/

  • LEctenna on ISS

    Hearing NASA Astronaut, Jessica Meir say “space-based solar power arrays … incredible option in the future providing clean energy to power the world.” in this video (@3:14) from onboard the International Space Station literally brought me to tears.

    As you all know, I’ve been an advocate of SBSP for years, just trying to make other citizens aware of this gamechanging clean energy technology.

    Hat tip to Elisa Shebaro for posting this video on her FB page!

  • Use Your Fame for Good, Ken Bone

    Kudos to my wife, Linda, for suggesting that I contact Ken Bone and let him know about space-based solar power, the serious long-term clean answer to his excellent energy policy question at the recent presidential debate.

    kenbone18

    With 163k and counting new Twitter followers, a retweet by Ken would be a real public service!