Space Technology- Electric Vehicle Charging Applications and More
Pixabay Image Credit
https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/nasa-space-tech-ev-charging
https://www.aii.org/how-the-space-race-built-todays-technology/
I have written many times about the way the space industry creates technology we will use on Earth, and we have another great technology that is being developed as part of the endeavor to explore the galaxy. Green-energy is heavily reliant on batteries which need to be charged regularly, and a new NASA-tested technology could charge an electric vehicle (EV) car battery in only five minutes. Partnerships between government and industry have produced useful technologies and will continue to do so. Investment into space programs is worthwhile, and will lead to gains that will be seen both in the heavens and on Earth.
Experiments on the International Space Station (ISS) have been particularly ambitious, with many materials science projects in work. A new technology is being developed to cool charging cables so that the amps they can carry may be boosted to reduce charging times. Currently, electrical cables used to charge EVs cannot safely exceed 520 amps, but NASA and a team from Purdue University has developed and tested a fluid cooling system to allow for up to 1,400 amps. At 1,400 amps, an EV could be charged in five minutes or less. A key metric for EV usage and adoption is charging time, and this development helps to make this potential drawback less sticky for consumers. Reducing the charging time from hours to minutes on a EV is great news for clean energy, but it is important to know that this technology is currently only working in a laboratory experiment. The testing occurred on the ISS as a portfolio of materials science experiments including foams and gels. Some of these tests involved medical monitoring and health as well that looked at how space affects the human body.
The space program and related experiments on the ISS are incredible for our development on Earth. Green technologies, pollution prevention and reduction and power sources are all being developed to support the mission in space, and both companies and governments have vested interests in their creation. The new power-cable cooling technology that is being worked on has practical applications on Earth and in space. If governments want to reduce carbon emissions, they should support the fast charging of EVs that this technology presents.
I wrote about the development of asteroid mining, and the potential to mine rare-earth metals that could be used in batteries for EVs. If we want to pursue green-energy projects in earnest for the population at large, we will need affordable and fast charging and batteries. Space technology developments will help with both the Earth and space applications. Without investment into our space programs, we will be at a disadvantage in our pursuit of green-energy technologies. Companies including Tesla and SpaceX will benefit from these developments that can be cross-pollinated to other industries and countries worldwide to reduce pollution.
The space race has been the birthplace of an incredible amount of technology we use today. The space race began in the 1950s, and the impetus was Russia’s launch of Sputnik, which saw the United States and Russia compete for supremacy in space. An amazing array of technology and products we use today were developed during the space race including air and water filtration systems, insulation, health equipment, solar technologies and other medical procedures and processes. The laser and semiconductor were pioneered and developed during the space race and have become mainstays in our lives. To say that space programs and technological developments are exorbitant and wasteful is untrue.
I cannot wait to see what technologies are developed as the current space race unfolds. Companies including SpaceX, Raytheon, Boeing and more. As the current space program develops to support the Space Force and commercial space flights, expect to see more developments in medical and engineering marvels.
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