Watts Happening?

by Don Pettit for Peace Energy Cooperative www.peaceenergy.ca ph 250-782-3882

SPACE ENERGY

The International Space Station is powered entirely by the largest solar electric array ever put into space. Each solar

wing is 35 metres long. Together the eight wings produce 246,000 watts of electricity when fully exposed to sunlight.

ant help myself. Im a space buff.

That image of the worlds first orbiting space satellite, Russias famous Sputnik, as it appeared in Time magazine when I was a kid, somehow became permanently imprinted on my psyche. Space has been an unwavering passion ever since. So my youth was filled with telescopes, chemistry labs and amateur rocketry (which I somehow survived with all fingers and eyes intact). More recently I have been inspired by several

real-life space explorers: Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield of course, but also a US astronaut who shares my name: Don Pettit. While in my life path I chose a career in the visual arts but maintained a keen interest in space, the other Don Pettit chose space technology as a career and kept photography as a passion. While I became a professional photographer, rooted firmly in place on this beautiful Earth and dedicated, as an environmentalist, to its appreciation and preservation, he went into orbit. His stunning photos

of our planet taken from the International Space Station have inspired millions. But this is supposed to be a column about energy, right? Let me explain the connection. SOLAR MAGIC The German physicist Max Planck received the 1918 Nobel Prize for his revolutionary quantum theory, a theory that Einstein then used to explain why some metal surfaces emit negatively charged particles (electrons) when struck by light. This mysterious phenomenon had been observed some years earlier and dubbed the photoelectric effect, but never explained. Einstein was awarded the 1921 Nobel Prize for his quantum explanation of the photoelectric effect (not for his theory of relativity). It took awhile to figure out how to use the photoelectric effect to create a practical means of generating solid-state electricity from sunlight. One of the first applications of solar electricity turned out to be, you guessed it, in outer space. Pretty well all of the some 20,000 satellites presently orbiting the Earth are solar powered, but the International Space Station is the crowning achievement of space-based solar electricity. Its massive solar arrays ( square meters) generate _____ kilowatts of electricity, automatically rotate to track the sun, keep everything on the ISS working and everybody on board comfortable and safe. Why would solar electricity be chosen to power the multi-trillion dollar spaced-based communications and research industry? Reliability: no moving parts to wear out or replace. Safety: no fuel to run out or explode. Unlimited power source: as long as the sun keeps shining, space electricity is there for the taking.

DEEP SPACE POWER NASAs Dawn spacecraft just left the asteroid Vesta, having traveled several hundred million miles to get there. (It has now de-orbited Vesta and is on its way toward another huge asteroid, Ceres). It too is powered entirely by the sun. A revolutionary solarelectric propulsion system takes electrons generated by solar panels and uses them to bombard a tiny bit of xenon fuel, then accelerates the resulting charged particles with an electric field. The resulting jet of ions creates a small but continuous thrust, which over the months of a deep space voyage can build up immense velocities. Likewise, NASAS new asteroid capture mission, planned for launch over the next few years, will use a 40 kilowatt solar array (for comparison, the solar array on my roof puts out 5 kilowatts) to power its solar-electric propulsion system. After rendezvousing with a small asteroid, it will capture it and haul it back to lunar orbit for study. Understanding asteroids will help us figure out how to divert (probably with solar-electric power) an inevitable Earth-threatening asteroid like the kind that wiped out the dinosaurs and could wipe us out too. Thanks to solar-electric power and propulsion, the door to our solar system stands wide open. DOWN TO EARTH Happily, all the advantages of solar power (reliability, safety and a forever fuel source) have come down to Earth over the last couple of decades in the form of inexpensive and readily available photovoltaic panels. Why does it feel so cool to power my home and business with space energy? Perhaps its a little bit of the other Don Pettit coming through.

Watts Happening? Quick Fact:

HOPE FOR CHINA: Chinas Future Generation, a new report from the US office of the World Wildlife Fund, concludes that China would spend far less money if it transitioned to an 80 percent renewable grid by 2050 than it would by continuing to rely on coal. Power plant emissions could be 90 percent below current projected levels in 2050, without destabilizing the countrys grid or slowing its growth.