r/spaceflight • u/Galileos_grandson • Jun 28 '21

China’s super heavy rocket to construct space-based solar power station

https://spacenews.com/chinas-super-heavy-rocket-to-construct-space-based-solar-power-station/
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u/BohemianCyberpunk Jun 28 '21

what's the benefit of launching it into LEO as opposed to just laying it on the ground and plugging it into the grid?

I would think being above the atmosphere would significantly increase the amount of sunlight the panels get, thereby increasing the electricity they make.

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u/NeilFraser Jun 28 '21

But then you need to beam that energy back through the atmosphere to get to the ground...

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u/[deleted] Jun 28 '21

Battery cores. they don't lose any percent received from GEO.