SRC-032

Deploying Sunsats

Published claims resting on this source

• CLM-0194 This 2010 paper predicts that if enough solar power satellites were built to justify mass-producing reusable rockets, launch could eventually cost around USD 400-450 per kilogram, against over USD 10,000 per kilogram at the time of writing, and this would add only about 2 US cents per kilowatt-hour to the price of the electricity produced.
• CLM-0195 In 2025 the whole world launched about 2,712 metric tons of satellites into orbit across 325 launches. A single 2010-era plan for solar power satellites assumed that, at its busiest point, over 160,000 metric tons a year and thousands of launches a year would be needed just for that one program. Real-world 2025 launch activity is far below that assumed scale.

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