After launching three astronauts into space, China is now planning to set up a solar power station in space for getting inexhaustible power.
The South China Morning Post reports that China is planning to start building for the ambitious project in 2028 which is said to be two years ahead of its original schedule. The publication quoting a science journal Chinese Space Science and Technology reports that China will be launching a satellite in 2028 to test wireless power transmission technology from space to the ground from an altitude of 400km.
Forbes, quoting Chinese scientist Pang Zhihao, from the China Academy of Space Technology reported that a space solar power system orbiting the Earth at an altitude of 36,000 kilometres could tap the energy of the sun's rays without disruption from atmospheric conditions or loss of sunlight at night.
Forbes, quoting Xie Gengxin, deputy head of the Chongqing Collaborative Innovation Research Institute for Civil-Military Integration in Southwestern China saying that a testing facility in Chongqing's Bishan district is being built and it will be used to test the theoretical viability of a space-based solar power station. The 33-acre facility will develop space transmission technologies while studying the effect of microwaves beamed back to Earth on living organisms.
Gengxin said they plan to launch four-six tethered balloons from the testing base and connect them to set up a network at an altitude of around 1,000 meters. The balloons will collect sunlight and convert solar energy to microwave before beaming it back to Earth. Receiving stations on the ground will convert such microwaves to electricity and distribute it to a grid.