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Re:Harvesting solar power in space and sending it back to Earth by schiffern on Thursday August 29, 2013 @05:47PM (#6298851)
Yep, after writing all that I realized that heat rejection is going to be a problem. Dissipating 8.4 MW is no easy feat in orbit.

At that point the balance of system probably shifts to thin film PV. There would need to be a lot of advancement in that area before such a project becomes practical.

>What about beaming between satellites? You'd need a laser for that.

I was picturing a microwave rectenna, actually.

Re:Harvesting solar power in space and sending it back to Earth by Gravityloss on Friday August 30, 2013 @02:40AM (#6300532)
If you use a laser, the receiving satellite wouldn't need extra hardware, it could use its ordinary solar panels, if they were pointed in the right direction.