Comment by dzhiurgis

> Okay but why not take that slightly larger solar panel and leave it on Earth?

Because panel cap factor is about 10-20% to begin because day and night exists on earth. Say you wanted to power it on solar + batteries and picked Australia. You pick place that has decent port and most exposure, i.e. Port Hedland. In winter, daily average drops by 20%. Also because atmosphere - 30% less insolation when compared to space. Finally add 10-45% cooling losses.

Which effectively means you need something at least 10-20x more panels + batteries to match space.