OHISAMA’s Orbital Experiment: A Technical Milestone, Not a Climate Solution

Japan’s OHISAMA satellite—expected to launch in 2025—will conduct the first end-to-end test of space-to-Earth wireless power transmission. But its true aim is lunar infrastructure, not climate salvation.

Later this year, Japan is expected to launch OHISAMA—a compact, 180-kilogram satellite roughly the size of a household washing machine—in what would be the first verified demonstration of wireless solar power transmission from low Earth orbit to a ground station on Earth. Developed under the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and executed by Japan Space Systems, the mission builds on decades of Japanese research into space-based solar power (SBSP), including JAXA’s 2015 ground test that beamed 1.8 kW over 50 meters and Mitsubishi’s 10 kW transmission over 500 meters.

OHISAMA will deploy a 2-square-meter photovoltaic array to charge an onboard battery, then convert that energy into microwaves at 5.8 GHz—a frequency chosen for its favorable atmospheric penetration—and beam it toward a rectenna array in Suwa, Nagano Prefecture. Using a phased-array antenna system, the satellite will attempt high-precision beam steering while traveling at 28,000 km/h, aiming to deliver approximately 1 kilowatt of power during a brief orbital pass.

How solar power works (Tylerhung445 via Wikimedia Commons)

The Real Target Isn’t Earth—It’s the Moon

Despite breathless headlines about “limitless clean energy from space,” OHISAMA’s purpose is narrowly technical and explicitly off-world. According to peer-reviewed documentation presented at the International Astronautical Congress in 2023 and 2024, its formal objective is to “confirm the feasibility of long-distance wireless power transmission (WPT) using a phased array antenna system to establish an energy system powering lunar facilities from lunar orbit.”

In short: Earth is the test range; the Moon is the destination. The mission—titled “On-orbit experiment of HIgh-precision beam control using small SAtellite for MicrowAve power transmission”—is a pathfinder for future lunar bases, not a terrestrial energy strategy. With only 1 kW of peak output, a multi-day recharge cycle, and reliance on a single battery, OHISAMA couldn’t power a suburban home, let alone contribute to Japan’s grid.

Why Space Solar Isn’t a Climate Fix—Now or Soon

Space-based solar power remains prohibitively expensive and ecologically dubious. A 2024 NASA cost analysis estimates it at 61 cents per kilowatt-hour—more than ten times the cost of utility-scale solar or wind on Earth (3–5 cents/kWh). Even with cheaper launches via SpaceX’s Starship, a single gigawatt-scale orbital station would require dozens of heavy-lift missions, injecting significant CO₂ and black carbon into the upper atmosphere.

Moreover, Earth already receives over 10,000 times more solar energy than humanity consumes daily. The bottleneck isn’t sunlight—it’s ownership. Rooftop solar, community wind cooperatives, geothermal district heating, and tidal energy are proven, scalable, and affordable. What blocks their expansion isn’t physics, but private utility monopolies, fossil fuel subsidies, and capital’s refusal to relinquish control over energy infrastructure.

The Illusion of Innovation: Framing orbital experiments as climate solutions diverts attention from urgent, terrestrial decarbonization.

The Cost of Prestige: National space programs often prioritize symbolic milestones over equitable energy access.

The Real Alternative: Publicly owned, democratically controlled renewables can meet our needs—today—without launching a single satellite.

A Socialist View: Space for Humanity, Not Profit

We do not oppose scientific progress. If OHISAMA succeeds, it will mark a genuine engineering milestone—one that may one day aid lunar bases or deliver emergency power to remote regions. But confusing a lunar preparatory experiment with a solution to the climate crisis is politically dangerous.

While METI invests in orbital microwaves, Japan’s working class faces rising electricity bills, aging nuclear reactors, and dependence on imported LNG. The real energy transition demands public ownership, massive investment in terrestrial renewables, and international solidarity—not kilowatt-scale stunts in the stratosphere.

In a socialist future, space technology could serve collective human needs. But that future won’t emerge from market logic or national prestige projects. It will be built from below—by movements that treat energy as a right, not a commodity beamed down from orbit for profit.

Key Takeaways:

1. OHISAMA is an upcoming 2025 mission to test wireless power beaming from orbit—not an operational power source.
2. Its goal is to enable future lunar infrastructure, not decarbonize Earth’s energy system.
3. Space-based solar remains vastly more expensive and less efficient than terrestrial renewables.
4. True climate action requires democratizing energy on Earth—not beaming it from space for profit.

This article examines Japan’s anticipated OHISAMA mission not as a climate breakthrough, but as a reminder that technological prowess alone cannot solve ecological collapse—only systemic change can.