FOUND IN SPACE - EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES THAT WILL MAKE LIFE BETTER ON AND OFF EARTH

Without space-based technology, we'd have trouble making a phone call, watching live TV, or getting directions. But communication satellites aren't the only things that will be floating around up there in the near future. Not only are humans about to spend a lot more time in space, we're also constantly finding more ways in space to help us out on Earth. Pretty soon, these space-based. technologies will be part of our daily lives..

- 

SOLAR POWER

Space-based solar power envisions collecting solar energy in space using satellites and beaming it back to Earth. This futuristic concept offers several advantages over traditional solar power, including continuous energy generation, higher efficiency, and global reach. It faces significant challenges such as high costs, technological complexity, and potential environmental impacts.

While still in development, spacebased solar power holds the promise of revolutionizing energy production and addressing global energy needs.

Startup Aetherflux plans to deploy a constellation of satellites in low Earth orbit starting in 2026 that will beam solar power to Earth.

"Our main observation for the reason it hasn't happened is because the design is not one that you can iterate on," Baiju Bhatt, founder and CEO of Aetherflux, said. "It's all or nothing. The approach of power transmission that we're taking, which is infrared laser-based, is something that you can actually make on an arbitrarily small spacecraft."

"THE APPROACH OF POWER TRANSMISSION THAT WE'RE TAKING, WHICH IS INFRARED LASER-BASED, IS SOMETHING THAT YOU CAN ACTUALLY MAKE ON AN ARBITRARILY SMALL SPACECRAFT."

GLOBAL NAVIGATION

Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) are networks of satellites that provide precise positioning, navigation, and timing information.