AIAA-Caltech Workshop

Space-Based Solar Power (SBSP) has long been discussed as a transformative energy solution with the potential to provide continuous power both on Earth and in space. It offers the prospect of continuous power generation, independent of weather or geography, with applications ranging from terrestrial energy markets to space exploration and national security. Despite this promise, SBSP has not yet reached commercial viability, raising questions about its feasibility. Are the primary barriers technological, economic, regulatory, or strategic? Can these challenges be overcome within the next two decades, or are there fundamental roadblocks that make SBSP impractical?

This by-invitation-only AIAA-Caltech workshop will move beyond broad advocacy and skepticism to conduct a rigorous, evidence-based assessment of SBSP's obstacles and pathways forward. Bringing together leading experts across government, industry, and academia, the workshop will identify the key roadblocks, evaluate their solvability, and define concrete next steps for research, investment, and policy.

Structured as a fact-driven, multidisciplinary dialogue, the workshop will focus on:

• Defining the major technical, economic, and regulatory challenges to SBSP.
• Assessing their solvability timelines (short-term, long-term, or never).
• Identifying the critical experiments, prototypes, and demonstrations needed to validate SBSP's feasibility.
• Outlining investment and policy actions required to enable progress.

Rather than advocating for or against SBSP, this workshop will scrutinize assumptions, challenge prevailing narratives, and develop an objective roadmap for decision-makers in government, industry, and research. If SBSP is viable, what needs to happen next? If it is not, what would conclusively prove its infeasibility?

This event will serve as the foundation for a structured sequence of follow-on engagements, ensuring that SBSP's future is shaped by clear data, not speculation.