Beams

Four environmental organizations have filed a petition asking the Federal Communications Commission to reverse its approval of a startup's plan to beam on-demand sunlight from space to Earth. The groups argue the agency ignored the project's potential impacts on wildlife and astronomy when it cleared the venture, and are pushing the regulator to reconsider the decision.

The US Department of Defense has moved a demonstration contract forward for a project to collect solar power in space and beam it back to Earth. The effort aims to prove that space-based solar energy can deliver continuous, weather-independent power, a capability long studied for military bases and remote operations.