South Korea Plan for Space Based Solar for More Than All US Nuclear Power | Science & Technology

South Korea plans a 120 Gigawatt space based solar project which would generate more power than the US nuclear industry’s 95 gigawatt.

Two Korean research institutes are designing a space solar power satellite project with the aim of providing approximately 1000 TWh of electricity to the Earth per year. The 95 gigawatts of nuclear in the US generates 800 terawatt hours per year. Spaced based solar at 120 gigawatts would generate 1000 terawatt hours.

This is an improved proposed Korean Space Solar Power Satellite (K-SSPS) project. It is a conceptual design of the satellite, its end-of-life disposal method, and a first pilot system and experiment.

The proposed system would use 4,000 sub-solar arrays measuring 10 meters × 270 meters and comprising thin film roll-out, with a system power efficiency of 13.5%.

It is not derived from rigorous analyses but rather serves as system requirements for commercial viability.

The system will have a mass of 10,000 tons per 2 gigawatt module and transmit microwave at a frequency of 5.8 GHz to Earth via a 1.0 square kilometer antenna. The microwaves can be converted on the ground to usable electricity via rectennas, which are special…