Problem of developing and making space systems to reduce the solar radiation incident on the Earth’s surface
Keywords:
climate control, global warming, geoengineering, space systems for reducing solar radiation flux, low-Earth orbits.Abstract
The problem of developing and making space systems to reduce the solar radiation incident on the Earth's surface is one of the key issues in global warming mitigation. Systems of this type have a certain advantage over other systems of geoengineering and global climate control, which is the minimal harmful impact on the ecology of the planet's atmosphere during operation. However, the scientific and methodological study of the features of making systems of this type in space has a number of unresolved problems, which, in the case of an urgent need, complicates their practical implementation. With this in mind, this paper considers possible problematic aspects that may arise in the development and making of systems of this type in near-Earth orbits.
The goal of the paper is to identify the problematic aspects of the development and making of systems to reduce the solar radiation incident on the Earth's surface. With this in mind, the paper critically analyzes approaches to the development and making of space systems to reduce the solar radiation incident on the Earth's surface and identifies the advantages and disadvantages of each of them. Problematic aspects of the development and making of systems of this type in low-Earth orbits in the altitude range from 300 to 3,000 km are identified. The effectiveness of systems for reducing the solar radiation incident on the Earth's surface is estimated with account for their periodic motion along the illuminated and the shadowed portion of the orbit. Taking into account these estimates, it is proposed to use the efficiency coefficient of distributed space systems to reduce the solar radiation incident on the Earth's surface. The paper presents one of the possible implementations of a system for reducing the solar radiation incident on the Earth's surface advisable in terms of an optimal shape of the system’s elementary modules. Practical problems to be solved in the future are outlined, and the main lines of their solution are identified.
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