Logicalscience

Gigawatt Lasers From Space:
Guaranteeing you a tan in 0.00000000000000001 seconds.



Google isn't picking much of anything up yet but apparently the Japanese space agency (JAXA) and Osaka University are launching test versions of a satellite that will convert energy in space into microwaves and then transmit them down to earth. Apparently they've made dramatic improvements in the technology and if all goes well they hope to build a 1,000,000,000 watt laser to transmit energy from space to ground station collectors. Since the laser is expected to be 22,400 miles up lets hope that the Japanese are good shots. Fully operational versions are expected to arrive in the year 2030. I'd love to see some cost projections. At a few thousand dollars per kilogram, launching stuff up into space isn't cheap.


Sources (poorly translated via Google):
Asahi.com, To convert solar light of outer space to laser light, to the ground development such as Osaka University, 2007 September 04th
JAXA, SPSS - Space Energy Utilization System
Astronautix, Orbital launch vehicle. Year: 1989. Family: Shuttle. Country: USA. Status: Study 1989.