The US military is working on a system that could one day be used to gather solar power in space and beam the energy to Earth. AP
The US military is working on a system that could one day be used to gather solar power in space and beam the energy to Earth. AP
The US military is working on a system that could one day be used to gather solar power in space and beam the energy to Earth. AP
The US military is working on a system that could one day be used to gather solar power in space and beam the energy to Earth. AP

US military tests space-based solar power device


Arthur Scott-Geddes
  • English
  • Arabic

Scientists at the Pentagon tested a prototype solar device that could one day allow energy harvested in space to be beamed back to Earth.
The device, called the Photovoltaic Radio-frequency Antenna Module (Pram), was sent from the Pentagon's X-37B drone, a reusable unmanned spacecraft shrouded in secrecy.

Pram is currently orbiting Earth once every 90 minutes and is able to capture sunlight before it diffuses in the planet's atmosphere, making it much more effective at generating electricity than a terrestrial device.

"We're getting a tonne of extra sunlight in space just because of that," one of the project's developers, Paul Jaffe, told CNN.
Despite being the size of a pizza box, the test panel has so far been able to generate about 10 watts of energy, roughly the amount needed to power a tablet.
Once the stuff of science fiction, scientists hope the technology could one day be developed to power entire cities.
"The next logical step is to scale it up to a larger area that collects more sunlight," Mr Jaffe said.

"Some visions have space solar matching or exceeding the largest power plants today, multiple gigawatts, so enough for a city."
Solar energy collected in space could be sent to Earth as microwave or laser beams before being converted into usable electricity.

The technology could one day be used to send power to areas where it is badly needed, providing a possible solution during natural disasters or widespread power cuts such as those seen in Texas in recent weeks.
"The unique advantage the solar power satellites have over any other source of power is this global transmissibility," Mr Jaffe said.

"You can send power to Chicago and a fraction of a second later, if you needed to, send it instead to London or Brasilia."

The falling cost of sending objects into space is helping to bring ambitious projects within reach and the race is on to develop the first solar power system in space.

China plans to build a solar power station in space by 2035, and Japan's space agency, Jaxa, has been developing a space-based solar power system since 1998.
In 2015, Jaxa began testing the wireless transmission of power by microwaves and sent 1.8 kilowatts of power over a distance of more than 50 metres.
Nasa has been investigating ways to build an orbital solar power station since the 1970s, including whether one could be built using materials gathered from the Moon or mined from an asteroid.
Private companies are also in contention. On Wednesday, space infrastructure company Redwire announced it had acquired Deployable Space Systems, one of the world's leading suppliers of solar arrays for spacecraft, highlighting the growing interest in the technology.
With militaries around the world backing testing efforts, scientists are keen to make clear that fears of a Death Star-style weapon are unfounded.
Mr Jaffe said that turning solar energy gathered in orbit into a weapon would be "exceedingly difficult, if not impossible".

McIlroy's struggles in 2016/17

European Tour: 6 events, 16 rounds, 5 cuts, 0 wins, 3 top-10s, 4 top-25s, 72,5567 points, ranked 16th

PGA Tour: 8 events, 26 rounds, 6 cuts, 0 wins, 4 top-10s, 5 top-25s, 526 points, ranked 71st

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Volunteers offer workers a lifeline

Community volunteers have swung into action delivering food packages and toiletries to the men.

When provisions are distributed, the men line up in long queues for packets of rice, flour, sugar, salt, pulses, milk, biscuits, shaving kits, soap and telecom cards.

Volunteers from St Mary’s Catholic Church said some workers came to the church to pray for their families and ask for assistance.

Boxes packed with essential food items were distributed to workers in the Dubai Investments Park and Ras Al Khaimah camps last week. Workers at the Sonapur camp asked for Dh1,600 towards their gas bill.

“Especially in this year of tolerance we consider ourselves privileged to be able to lend a helping hand to our needy brothers in the Actco camp," Father Lennie Connully, parish priest of St Mary’s.

Workers spoke of their helplessness, seeing children’s marriages cancelled because of lack of money going home. Others told of their misery of being unable to return home when a parent died.

“More than daily food, they are worried about not sending money home for their family,” said Kusum Dutta, a volunteer who works with the Indian consulate.

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COPA DEL REY

Semi-final, first leg

Barcelona 1 (Malcom 57')
Real Madrid (Vazquez 6')

Second leg, February 27

Some of Darwish's last words

"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008

His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.

What can victims do?

Always use only regulated platforms

Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion

Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)

Report to local authorities

Warn others to prevent further harm

Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence

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Marathon results

Men:

 1. Titus Ekiru(KEN) 2:06:13 

2. Alphonce Simbu(TAN) 2:07:50 

3. Reuben Kipyego(KEN) 2:08:25 

4. Abel Kirui(KEN) 2:08:46 

5. Felix Kemutai(KEN) 2:10:48  

Women:

1. Judith Korir(KEN) 2:22:30 

2. Eunice Chumba(BHR) 2:26:01 

3. Immaculate Chemutai(UGA) 2:28:30 

4. Abebech Bekele(ETH) 2:29:43 

5. Aleksandra Morozova(RUS) 2:33:01  

Bareilly Ki Barfi
Directed by: Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari
Starring: Kriti Sanon, Ayushmann Khurrana, Rajkummar Rao
Three and a half stars