British invention moves solar power station in space a step closer
For more than eight decades, the idea of beaming an around-the-clock supply of solar power from space has fascinated people including Isaac Asimov, the science-fiction writer, and forward-thinking politicians.
However, while the price of solar panels has dropped drastically and the technology to wirelessly transmit power has improved, a crucial question has still to be answered: how do you build a large solar plant in the Earth's orbit?
Space Solar, a British company, may have the answer. It hopes to assemble a power station in space using autonomous robots. To show that the idea is more than wishful thinking, it has tested the technology at a facility near Oxford.
The business, based in Didcot and backed by more than £10 million of government grants, aims
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