One of the biggest problems with solar energy is that the sun is not always shining on Earth, but in space, this type of power can be collected almost continuously, making it an attractive prospect for overcoming the intermittency of Earth-based renewables. The concept of space-based solar power has been discussed for over a century, though the idea has struggled to gain traction due to technological challenges and high costs.
NASA estimates that space solar power may not be commercially viable until at least 2050. Even then, it could be up to 80 times more expensive than current terrestrial renewable energy sources. However, a new startup, Aetherflux, led by billionaire entrepreneur Baiju Bhatt, is looking to change that outlook.
Bhatt, who co-founded and served as CEO of the financial services company Robinhood, is now turning his attention to space solar energy. He says the goal of this new endeavor is to adapt existing technologies from other industries to make space solar a reality.
“We view this as primarily an engineering and economics problem, not a hard science problem,” Bhatt said. “How can we take technologies that exist today, where even other industries are maturing them, and use those technologies to create something that can happen today?”
Aetherflux plans to gather solar power from space and beam it down to Earth, bypassing the limitations of traditional renewable energy sources that are affected by weather or the time of day. Unlike other space solar projects that rely on large, costly spacecraft, Aetherflux intends to deploy a constellation of smaller satellites. This approach is similar to SpaceX’s Starlink project, which uses a network of small satellites to provide global internet coverage.
“The way that we’re going to be transferring power from space to Earth is actually using a constellation of satellites in low Earth orbit,” Bhatt said. “Each one collects power and then uses infrared lasers to find a ground station and transmit power down to it.”
Aetherflux’s initial goal is to generate enough power from its satellites to supply a small neighborhood. The company is aiming to launch its first demonstration spacecraft by late 2025 or early 2026.
