The Caltech Concept is just that — a concept. No prototype, no tests, no manufacturing, no results. When they achieve this order of magnitude improvement on a prototype scale, that's when we should take them seriously.
replyI'm referring to the description of "today’s space PV-cell technology" (I believe the lightweight panels used to upgrade the ISS in 2021).
replySSPP has already sent prototypes to space: https://www.caltech.edu/about/news/space-solar-power-project....
There's a ton of work being done on lightweight solar panels for space. E.g. https://ascentsolar.com/asti-technology-and-unique-advantage...
I have a lot of respect for Atwater but I'm pretty sure a lot of people at Caltech think this is donor driven research.
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