China is working on a very large and ambitious project—building a solar power station in space that will be one kilometer wide. Engineers have compared it to moving the huge Three Gorges Dam into space. The goal is to collect solar energy more efficiently and send it back to Earth.
Once launched, the space station will sit 36,000 kilometers above Earth in a fixed position. From there, it will collect sunlight all the time—unlike solar panels on Earth, which can be affected by clouds, night-time, or bad weather. The station will then send the energy to Earth using special microwave signals.
Experts say this space-based solar power station will be up to 10 times more efficient than solar panels on the ground. It could even produce as much energy as the total amount of oil used around the world in a year.
Construction for this high-tech project started in 2019 in Chongqing, China. To carry parts of the station into space, China plans to use its powerful Long March-9 rocket, which is still under development.
If successful, this project could mark a big step forward for clean and renewable energy. It could also change how the world thinks about energy production by making space an important source of power.
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