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Scientists say misaligned high-power lasers could trigger electrical discharges and force emergency shutdowns in spacecraft.
The US and China are racing to build space-based solar power infrastructure that would beam electricity down to Earth 24/7.
However, orbital congestion is an increasing problem and could pose a serious challenge by the time prototype space solar satellites are flying in orbit by the late 2020s.
With several US startups eyeing orbital demonstrations of their technologies, a new study warns that powerful lasers beaming energy down to Earth could harm other satellites in Earth’s increasingly congested orbit.
If laser beams used to transmit energy miss their targets, they could damage nearby spacecraft and satellites. This could happen due to tracking errors or system malfunctions, which are not uncommon in space operations, a team from the Beijing Institute of Satellite Environment Engineering explained in the new study.
These errant laser beams could induce unintended charges, potentially damaging electronics systems and forcing emergency shutdowns. Unsurprisingly, the risk increases with the laser beam’s power density.
The team’s new paper, published in the Chinese journal High Power Laser and Particle Beams, outlines a safer approach to using laser transmission for space-based solar power. “Our findings provide guidance for selecting safer laser parameters and for designing protective measures for satellite solar arrays,” the researchers wrote in their study.
Space-based solar power was first proposed in 1968 by Czech-born American aerospace engineer Peter Glaser. It has long been touted as a method for delivering uninterrupted renewable energy that is not affected by adverse weather conditions.
Today, a new wave of companies is aiming to finally make the concept a reality. While traditional concepts have focused on microwave transmission, organizations are increasingly looking at infrared laser beams. Unlike microwaves, laser beams would not require large ground infrastructure.
US startup Overview Energy recently demonstrated its laser technology in a world-first aircraft demonstration. The company aims to perform an orbital demonstration by 2028.
According to a South China Morning Post report, China is also making great progress. The nation aims to launch its own megawatt-scale demonstration system by 2030.
However, the new paper warns that low Earth orbit is becoming increasingly congested. As most space-based solar power concepts would send satellites to a higher geosynchronous orbit (GEO), the risk of laser beams zapping satellites will continue to increase as more satellites are launched.
The team in Beijing simulated what could happen if a power-beaming laser hit a satellite. In the lab, they fired ultra-short laser pulses at a solar panel sample. Using high-speed cameras and sensors, they recorded brief flashes of light as well as spikes of current. This showed that the laser pulses had triggered electrical discharges. Though brief, such an event could potentially damage sensitive electronics or activate an emergency shutdown.
Chris Young is a journalist, copywriter, blogger and tech geek at heart who’s reported on the likes of the Mobile World Congress, written for Lifehack, The Culture Trip, Flydoscope and some of the world’s biggest tech companies, including NEC and Thales, about robots, satellites and other world-changing innovations.
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