High Frontier Forums

IEEE has gathered together a whole bunch of hard data on solar cell efficiency over the last decade into one cool, interactive chart.



Click here for the full interactive chart, and links to deeper analysis.

For space colonization, the rapid increases in solar cell efficiency are good news. Sure, a nuclear plant would be great, but politically, solar panels are a much easier sell.

On the other hand, as terrestrial solar gets better and cheaper, it chips away at the economic advantage of space-based solar power. So we may need to find other anchor industries to support the initial space-based economy. My bet's on tourism and video production. But what do you think?

I think that the first "official need" for a multi deck rotating space station will be from private investor and space agencies willing to test extensively various product or equipment at various G.

So i imagine the space station as a giant climatic chamber capable of changing not only temperature or atmosphere composition, but also gravity as needed.
so, the Mars deck will have the same atmospheric composition/temperature AND gravity as Mars. maybe also a recostruction of mars soil.
a moon deck is also possible.
those planetary deck could be also used for training personnel for future missions.
0G deck will be mostly used by electronic producer and tech company to test equipment/production methods in 0G.

You should contact Elon Musk, if he wants to go to Mars in the next 20 years, maybe we should start the training as soon as possible

(12-01-2016, 08:26 AM)JoeStrout Wrote: [ -> ]On the other hand, as terrestrial solar gets better and cheaper, it chips away at the economic advantage of space-based solar power. ...

A satellite in geostationary orbit is in sunlight full time, except 2 brief and very predictable times a year when it passes through Earth's shadow. With multiple satellites they won't be passing through the shadow at the same time. Baring a massive improvement in electrical storage, ground based solar can't touch that availability.