US firm patents space solar systems

The race to become the first company to successfully harness solar power using orbiting satellites is hotting up, after Washington-based startup PowerSat announced last week that it has filed two patents that it hopes will bring space-based power generation closer to reality.

The company, which hopes to put solar arrays into space, filed a patent that would enable it to get solar arrays into an optimal orbit with minimal use of fuel. Once there, another patent protects technology that would enable multiple solar arrays to work together in unison, spreading the risk of failure and making the whole venture more commercially viable.

Business Green