One Lightbulb Project Hopes to Launch in 2010

Solar power is great in that it can generate virtually free power from the energy of the sun. The catch is that existing solar power equipment isn’t particularly effective at capturing and turning the suns energy into electricity.

The concept of an orbiting satellite gathering power from space and beaming it down to the ground to power devices on Earth may sound like science fiction, but that is exactly what the One Lightbulb project hopes to accomplish.
The project will start in December when the Eisenhower Center for Space and Defense Studies at the U.S. Air Force Academy will start the construction of two satellites for the task. Two satellites are being built at the same time with one being called Light and the other Heavy. The reason for two satellites is to ensure that success of the project occurs in the face of adversity. Two satellites help ensure the project doesn’t die if financial or legal troubles plague one satellite.

DailyTech