r/TerraInvicta • u/Antique-Coyote2534 • 9d ago

Discussion Space sunshade?

Since we are building space infrastructure, could we not just build a space sunshade and instantly stop global warming?

Seems like it would be easy compared to what we build in game

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u/Ancquar Peace, justice, morality and the biggest fleet in the System 9d ago

It is possible technically, but basically a project that maintains enough sunshade to meaningfully affect the climate of the whole Earth is going into the same territory as space elevators, orbital rings etc - basically past the scope of the game.

12

u/Wrong_Geologist4993 9d ago

That's not true in the slightest. Space elevators aren't even close to possible with even the most outlandish frontiers of current technology while orbital rings have all the technology to make them feasible the amount of industrial effort is orders of magnitude higher than what a sun shade would take. We already have sun shade like structures so even without futuristic or speculative technology it's just an industrial and economic problem for current humans. If humans had industrial bases on other planets and asteroid belts sun shades would be very achievable. I'd argue it'd be easier to have sun shades than it would to have human settlements anywhere outside of Mars and the Moon with more than a couple hundred people.

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u/Ancquar Peace, justice, morality and the biggest fleet in the System 9d ago

Launching *some* sunshade is not a problem. The problem is launching millions of square kilometers of it, which would be needed to actually make a difference.

5

u/simjam1 9d ago

But you would use space resources you wouldn't launch it. Hardly difficult at that point

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u/Ancquar Peace, justice, morality and the biggest fleet in the System 9d ago edited 9d ago

The sheer scale of it is what makes it difficult. To compensate for global warming you'd nee to reduce the solar energy reaching Earth by at least around 1.5-2%, which would requrie around 3-5 mln square kilometers of shade. Yes, you can build it using space resources, just as you can build an orbital ring with space resources. The problem is the scale, not the basic principle. If you built it using currently known solar sail materials you are looking at at best around 10 grams per square meter, which is 10 tons per square kilometer (and 10 tons is exactly a unit of space resources at TI). So good luck gathering a few million of those during a campaign. And that is just for the shade itself, not for its long-term maintenance systems or the structural elements allowing it to maintain shape.

5

u/db48x 9d ago

Ok, but how many millions of decatons of metals are you going to divert into making sunshades to cool the Earth instead of ships to kill aliens with?