⬆️ @sundogplanets >> The costs are high, the environmental effects are potentially catastrophic, there are huge safety issues, and the benefits are negligible.

@nebulousmenace >> *nods* my hope is they're just in it to harvest venture capital.

That was #ReflectOrbital in October 2025. Now, yet another startup #Helio makes the case for #SpaceSolar or #SBSP

This one seeks to harvest #solar energy, convert it to microwaves, and transmit it wirelessly to Earth

@GreenFire

https://mastodon.green/@Casey/116109121873989595

#Silicon is relatively heavy and inflexible. In contrast, organic #SolarCells ☀️ can be #flexible and are much lighter. Organic solar cells made with small molecules showed no damage after three years worth of #radiation ☢️ https://news.umich.edu/light-flexible-and-radiation-resistant-organic-solar-cells-for-space/

#SBSP #FlexibleSolarCells #University #Michigan

Growing efficiencies of near-infrared #lasers make them preferable over #microwaves, allowing the transmission antenna on the spacecraft to be scaled down from hundreds of meters across to about half a meter 📏. #OverviewEnergy successfully tested a system that transmitted “multiple thousands of watts” of power using a near-infrared laser from an aircraft flying at an altitude of 5,000 meters to a receiver on the ground https://spacenews.com/overview-energy-demonstrates-technologies-for-space-solar-power/

#SBSP #solar #energy