The title for this article, at the time of posting: “The final frontier for solar energy” .
I’d hate to have one of them crashing down in my living room. Or I look up in the sky to see it dotted with these machines everywhere. So I propose we build the first one off Cape Cod at Hyannis Port for starters.
How long would the extension cord need to be. LOL
Not gonna happen, unless one of two other things happens first:
1. A significant orbital industry develops. In such a case the panels could be built in orbit from asteroid or even kunar materials. Far and away the biggest cost of these things is getting them out of Earth’s gravity well and into orbit.
2. Some sort of propulsion system not involving rockets is developed. If we were able to control the gravitational force, for instance, as we do the electromagnetic force, this might be possible. We’re never going to do much in space as long as we can only get to orbit by throwing stuff out the back door.