China is planning to build gigantic power station the size of the Three Gorges Dam orbiting 36,000km above Earth
China plans to build a gigantic power station in space that orbits 36,000km above Earth.
The space version of the Three Gorges Dam will be lifted into orbit piece by piece using the country's next-gen heavy-lift rockets.
Meanwhile, the original Three Gorges Dam - the world’s largest hydropower project - sits on the Yangtze River in central China and produces an astounding 100 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually.
According to one NASA scientist, the dam is so massive that, if fully filled, the weight of the water it holds could slow Earth's rotation slightly, adding 0.06 microseconds to the length of a day.
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Now, China is looking to replicate that kind of energy impact in space.
The idea of creating a space-based power station may not be new but it is incredibly ambitious.
In space, solar panels can collect far more energy since there’s no atmosphere to block or scatter sunlight. Moreover, a space station can orbit Earth and collect sunlight 24/7 without interruption.
It's not as useless as it may sound as the idea is to wirelessly transmit the energy back to Earth through high-energy radio waves to receivers on the ground.
One of the trickiest parts of the project is figuring out how to transport the massive components into orbit. This is where China's Long March-9 (CZ-9) reusable super-heavy rocket comes in, with a lifting capacity of at least 150 tons (136 metric tons).
“We are working on this project now," Long Lehao, a rocket scientist and member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE), said per South China Morning Post.
"It is as significant as moving the Three Gorges Dam to a geostationary orbit 36,000km (22,370 miles) above the Earth."
When complete, the orbiting power station would be expected to deliver an insurmountable amount of power to us Earthlings.
"This is an incredible project to look forward to," Long added. "The energy collected in one year would be equivalent to the total amount of oil that can be extracted from the Earth."
Furthermore, the rocket will play another role in China’s plans to explore the moon, where the nation aims to establish an international lunar research base by 2035.
China hasn’t revealed a timeline for the project, but it faces competition. Iceland is collaborating with UK company Space Solar to create a smaller space solar array by 2030. This smaller setup could power up to 3,000 homes and would serve as a stepping stone for a larger station planned by 2036.