Microwaves From Space – What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

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The idea of space-based solar power was been tossed about by science fiction writers for more than a century, but has become the topic of serious discussion only in the past few years. It’s one of those concepts that seems to make perfect sense on the macro level.

Solar energy is free. The sun sends us enough of it every hour to power all of humanity’s needs — yes, even AI — for a year. But the Earth rotates as it revolves around the sun, which means every place on Earth is in darkness for a portion on every day. (Yes, I know there are places near the poles where the sun shines continuously for a portion of every year, but they are not major population centers. Work with me here.)

In one scenario, humans could build high voltage transmission lines to transport solar-generated electricity from the sunny parts to the parts in darkness, but if you think the Strait of Hormuz is a choke point, imagine how vulnerable those transmission lines would be if some lunatic in power anywhere in the world decided to blow them up. Think that is far fetched? Really? Have you read the headlines this morning?

A New Take On Space-Based Solar

Many think a better idea is to put solar collectors into orbit around the Earth that are high enough to always be in sunlight. They could collect all that lovely solar energy and beam it back to Earth 24 hours a day. Think of it. No more thermal generation powered by nukes, oil, coal, methane, wood, biomass, or unicorn farts. What a wonderful world it would be. What a glorious time to be free!

Ling Xin is a science journalist based in Ohio who covers physics, astronomy, and space. Her writing has appeared in Science, Scientific American, and MIT Technology Review. In a story for South China Morning Post dated April 5, 2026, she writes that a senior Chinese scientist has outlined the potential military applications of space-based solar power technology. His proposal offers a glimpse into how energy beamed from orbit could also support surveillance and electronic warfare.

(Yes we know SCMP is part of the Chinese military-industrial complex and its stories should be taken with a grain of salt. In that respect, it is a lot like Faux News, so get over your “holier than thou” attitude.)

In a paper published in the journal Scientia Sinica Informationis, Duan Baoyan, a leading architect of China’s Zhuri space solar power initiative, wrote that his team had revamped the design of the giant orbital infrastructure. Now, in addition to energy transmission, the new system was could support a wide range of tasks “such as communication, navigation, reconnaissance, interference and remote control,” he said.

Duan is currently a professor of electromechanical engineering at Xidian University in Xian and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. In his proposal, he stressed the need for extremely narrow, precisely steerable microwave beams to deliver energy from space to the ground over long distances.

The new design improve the efficiency and accuracy of wireless power transmission. That’s the good news, But it could also be capable of targeted signal transmission, which would support applications such as jamming military communications. That’s the bad news.

24-Hour Solar

China is one of the world’s leading countries developing space-based solar power. Unlike solar panels on the ground, which are limited by weather, seasons and the day-night cycle, space-based systems can collect sunlight almost continuously.

More than a decade ago, Duan and his colleagues proposed the so-called OMEGA — Orbit M-shaped Exploration and Gigawatt Application — design as one of China’s main approaches to building such a system. In 2022, the team completed a 75-meter (265-feet) ground-based facility to test the full process, from tracking the sun and concentrating light, to transmitting energy wirelessly and receiving it at a distance.

In the latest paper, Duan concentrated on making OMEGA part of the broader Zhuri — or “sun-chasing ” — initiative. Doing so would make the system more practical by shifting from a single large structure to a modular system made up of many smaller units working together.

Instead of relying on one massive power station, the distributed design would group multiple solar collecting units into modules and arrays, allowing the system to continue operating even if some components failed. (Or got taken out by some hostile power.)

The approach is also intended to reduce the engineering challenges of handling extremely high power levels in space and lower the overall difficulty of building the system, according to the paper. Duan said the OMEGA design could offer advantages over ALPHA, including a much simpler structure, more efficient energy collection, and improved thermal management.

NASA SPS-ALPHA

The concept is not new. 15 years ago, NASA advocated for its SPS-ALPHA — Solar Power Satellite via Arbitrarily Large Phased Array — concept that relied on coordinating vast numbers of small modular units to generate and transmit power.

In 2023, researchers at the California Institute of Technology demonstrated microwave power transmission in orbit. First proposed in the 1960s, the space solar power concept has long been seen as a potential way to provide large scale continuous clean energy, although technical and cost challenges remain. That is what passes in the scientific community for understatement.

Of course, China is not the only country toying with the idea of space-based weaponry. The allure of blasting people and things on the ground from space is truly appealing. What could be closer to a divine power than sending a beam of deadly energy down on an unsuspecting immigrant enemy? ZOT! A one way ticket to hell with plausible deniability built-in. Surely Jesus would approve!

Interrupting Critical Communications

Last year at this time, Chatham House, an international policy advisory group based in London, said in a report, “The increasing reliance on space-based assets for military and civilian functions has heightened the need to protect these systems from cyberthreats.”

“Satellites play a crucial role in secure communications, navigation, intelligence and early warning systems, making them indispensable to NATO’s defence and deterrence posture. However, space-based assets face a growing array of threats, including cyberattacks, which can disrupt critical functions, compromise operations and undermine global security.”

The crux of the matter is, whose cyber capabilities are deemed friendly and whose are deemed hostile? The StarLink system from SpaceX has been used to support Ukrainian attempts to defend itself from Russian aggression — except during times when Elon Musk woke up in a sour mood and turned off access to the system over Ukraine. Does anyone think Musk should have control over strategic communications?

The upshot of all this focus on space-based power and communications risks flooding the skies above the Earth with so many satellites that the only way mere mortals will be able to see the stars is in AI generated simulations.

Every tool can be both a boon and a bane. G. Gordon Liddy said he knew 12 ways to kill someone with a No. 2 pencil. Space-based power could indeed be a benefit to humanity, or it could transform into a weapon more powerful than any nuclear bomb. The limiting factor is how rational the people controlling such systems are. Today there is little reason to be optimistic on that subject.