Environmental Projects
Space-based approaches to solar energy management
Two projects, one star, two very different orbital regimes.
Solar Shield Swarm
Reflective sail swarm stationed near Sun-Earth L1, designed to reduce solar insolation reaching Earth.
Status: concept / early design Distance from Sun: ~148.1M km
SBSP Harvester
Solar energy collection satellite in Earth orbit, beaming power to a ground rectenna.
Status: concept Distance from Sun: ~149.6M km
How far apart are they, really?
At solar-system scale, both projects sit within about 1% of Earth’s own distance from the Sun (1 AU = 149.6 million km). The L1 swarm is roughly 1.5 million km closer — the point where Earth’s and the Sun’s gravity balance. That gap is small on the scale of the solar system, but it is the entire difference between a deep-space mission with no easy servicing and a satellite living in Earth’s own orbital neighborhood.
