Wednesday, August 12, 2020

Concentrating sunlight to Venus

You knew this was coming: how to beam sunlight, to Venus. You'd think it was the one planet in our Solar System which didn't need more radiation but, if you've been paying attention . . .

[LOGISTIC 11/23] First we have to get these stations over there. But by then we should be old hands at assembling solar power stations over Earth. Just raise modular cells from Earth or, better, from our Moon; come Hohmann time, run what we got over to Venus, and assemble them there. As modulars, the load is light enough they can be rushed over faster and/or off-Hohmann if needed.

The staticpoints over Venus' clouds which can count on steady sunlight are the poles. This might also help the "Forever Flotilla", alongside the charging-station balloons.

Either way: we park the main solar-redirecting satellite at the L1 libration-point. Best at the long halo, Lagrange over Lissajous. That's a bit far for tight-beaming but I reckon it can hit a true-orbiting satellite - several such satellites, even. (We do need somehow to ensure the Sun's streaming wind doesn't push the thing onto Venus; my plan for L2 requires a supply of propellant.)

Propose a set of polar-orbiters. Each such satellite opens a sail. We're adjusting inclination, famously the hard part of Kepler. Sails are opened around the orbital nodes, which would be the sidereal poles in this case.

Its orbit stays circular, of course; also, expect a high orbit, minimising delta-V so the width of the sail. Its orbit, thus nudged, is always orthogonal to the sun's light. Being thus always at right-angles to the sun, it can rise to the full "capture orbit" at 616000 km semimajor. This also keeps it out of the true satellites' way. It might fall victim to Hohmann space-junk but meh, just put up another one. The junk won't stay there.

The polar-solar can pass its own perma-sunlight, and that L1 beam, on to the north pole. Then, let's say an hour later, to the south; and back again. The highest flyers can pass the light or at least communications on to frigid L2. UPDATE 1/12/2021: Maybe not the light.

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