WASHINGTON ― In 1941, science fiction writer Isaac Asimov published “Reason,” a short story featuring the idea of harvesting the Sun’s rays to create electricity for use on Earth. It’s an idea that has obvious draw ― and was obviously never going to really happen.
Except, over the years, scientists have continued to poke at the concept. After all, if the technology was possible, it could in theory fuel far-flung military bases without the need for expensive, complicated and vulnerable fuel-supply convoys, while making possible “gas stations” for spacecraft voyaging to the Moon and beyond.
And now, 85 years after Asimov’s publication, the Pentagon, as well as a variety of Silicon Valley funders, are taking a much more serious look at the capability.
“While we have been informally researching the topic for a few years, Space Operational Energy is a growing focus for us,” an Air Force spokesperson told Breaking Defense. “We hope to host industry days and create avenues for collaboration with industry partners in the near future.”
The Pentagon’s renewed interest in such a capability is being buoyed by research over the past five years that has brought some of the underlying technologies to fruition, as well as its war on Iran, which showed how US adversaries can easily target Earth-based fuel logistics tails.
