Virtus Solis wants to group satellites into massive arrays—100,000 satellites for 100MW—allowing for a highly scalable energy platform. Arrays can grow to 20 Gigawatt or more. Virtus Solis and Silicon Valley startup Orbital Composites are preparing to begin robotic assembly of hexagonal photovoltaic tiles — essentially solar panels — in a medium Earth Molniya orbit in 2027. Their goal is transmission of more than one kilowatt to Earth. Virtus Solis won a $1.92 million contract in January from the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy to develop technology for wirelessly transferring radio-frequency power. Highly efficient, miniature RF components will benefit SBSP campaigns as well as unrelated space programs, Tate said.
Space based solar will have greater than 90% availability, for 5–20x more sunlight than terrestrial solar due to no weather or night time. Sunlight is 40% more intense in orbit.
There are several verticals that struggle to be electrified, especially heavy duty use cases like marine and aircraft. Using synfuels as energy storage is a great idea, and Virtus Solis Technologies could help bring synfuels to market at costs lower than digging oil out of the ground.
Silicon Valley startup Orbital Composites and Michigan-based Virtus Solis Technologies announced plans Feb. 1 to conduct a 2027 space-based solar power demonstration. The 2027 mission is designed to showcase critical power-generation technologies including in-space assembly of solar panels and transmission of more than one kilowatt to Earth. The 2027 mission will be a precursor to large-scale commercial megawatt-class solar installations in space by 2030.
The demonstration is destined for medium-Earth orbit, where Earth’s atmosphere will not interfere with “continuous solar power generation,” according to the news release.
Virtus Solis, founded in 2019, intends to deploy 1.65-meter solar tiles in a medium-Earth Molniya orbit. Virtus Solis plans to build gigawatts of huge modular arrays using robotic assembly.
Virtus Solis CEO John Bucknell said that the combination of his company’s architectural innovation combined with Orbital Composites’ advanced manufacturing expertise would “unlock a future of limitless, sustainable power, both in space and on Earth.
Brian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends including Space, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Anti-aging Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology.
Known for identifying cutting edge technologies, he is currently a Co-Founder of a startup and fundraiser for high potential early-stage companies. He is the Head of Research for Allocations for deep technology investments and an Angel Investor at Space Angels.
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