 has been exploring the idea of space-based solar power plants and commissioned two 'concept studies' earlier this year. It is hoping to present a business case to the EU by 2025. Major Peake, who is an ESA astronaut, said the agency had calculated that solar farms in space would be financially viable when cargoes could be launched at a cost of $1,000 (£807) per kilogramme or less. 'So far, the actual costs have been about $2,700 per kilo,' he told an energy tech summit last week. 'Launches using the Falcon Heavy can reduce that to about $1,500 and the so-called Starship brings that down by an order of magnitude to about $300 per kilo.' The Falcon Heavy and Starship are rocket launchers designed by SpaceX, the aerospace company founded by Elon Musk. Unlike previous launchers, they are programmed to return to Earth intact and are reusable. This means there is no need to construct a completely new rocket for each launch, which makes the overall process cheaper . The Falcon Heavy is already transporting cargo such as satellites into space, while the Starship is in development. An unmanned test flight in April exploded minutes after lift off during a test flight in April.){kind=link}
Space-based solar farms could provide up to a quarter of Britain’s electricity needs
British astronaut Tim Peake has backed the idea of solar farms in space, saying the idea is “becoming absolutely viable.”
Major Peake, the first Briton to complete a space walk, said the tumbling cost of launching heavy cargoes into orbit meant that complex structures such as solar power farms could soon be launched into space.
He said: “It boils down to hard numbers at the end of the day. Launching thousands of tonnes of hardware into low Earth orbit is becoming absolutely viable.”
The European Space Agency (ESA) has been exploring the idea of space-based solar power plants and commissioned two “concept studies” earlier this year. It is hoping to present a business case to the EU by 2025.