--- title: "US Military Tests Satellite for Beaming Power Down to Earth" description: "A team of scientists have successfully tested a solar panel prototype that can theoretically send electricity from space back to anywhere on Earth." date: "2021-02-24" modified: "2021-02-24" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/military-tests-satellite-beaming-power-space" categories: - "Military" - "Science & Energy" tags: - "Pentagon" - "space based solar power" - "the digest" --- # US Military Tests Satellite for Beaming Power Down to Earth ![A team of scientists have successfully tested a solar panel prototype that can theoretically send electricity from space back to anywhere on Earth.]() *\Image: DOD\* ## Space Power A team of scientists have successfully tested a solar panel prototype that can theoretically send electricity from space back to anywhere on Earth, [*CNN* reports](). The panel, called the Photovoltaic Radio-Frequency Antenna Module (PRAM) and roughly the size of a pizza box, was first launched in May 2020, mounted to the Pentagon's top secret X-37B drone. Thanks to the fact that the sunlight isn't blocked by the Earth's atmosphere, the panel can receive more illumination that it would on Earth. So far, the prototype has generated about 10 watts, plenty to power a tablet. But the device still hasn't actually done the hard part yet — the much more complicated process of transmitting power back down to Earth, something the researchers are hoping to test in the upcoming years. ## Global Transmission The transmission technologies required to make that happen are still in their infancy, but such a method of power delivery could prove to be extremely promising. "The unique advantage the solar power satellites have over any other source of power is this global transmissibility," Paul Jaffe, PRAM principal investigator at the US Naval Research Laboratory, told *CNN*. "You can send power to Chicago and a fraction of a second later, if you needed, send it instead to London or Brasilia." That means such a system could also be extremely useful to provide disaster-prone regions on Earth with immediate power without relying on physical infrastructure on the ground. According to [a paper]() published in January in the journal *IEEE Journal of Microwaves*, Jaffe and his colleagues found that microwave and millimeter wave power beaming could work in principle, especially when panels like PRAM were to be scaled up by combining many of them into a kilometers-wide array. "The next logical step is to scale it up to a larger area that collects more sunlight, that converts more into microwaves," Jaffe told *CNN*. **READ MORE:** [CNN exclusive: A solar panel in space is collecting energy that could one day be beamed to anywhere on Earth]() \[*CNN*\] **More on beaming power:** *[THE AIR FORCE IS TRYING TO BEAM SOLAR POWER DOWN TO EARTH]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()