and 57° East. The minor axes are stable node points and the major axes unstable. The SSPS would be positioned so its solar collectors always face the sun, while the antenna directs a microwave beam to a receiving antenna on Earth. The microwave beam would permit all-weather transmission so that full use could be made of the nearly 24 hours of available solar energy. In an equatorial, synchronous orbit, the satellite can be maintained stationary with respect to any desired location on Earth. There are three major influences on the SSPS which would cause it to drift from its nominal orbital location (Figure 2): FIGURE 2. - NOMINAL ORBIT PERTURBATIONS 1. The ellipticity of the Earth causes the SSPS to seek out the Earth's minor axes; 2. The interaction of the gravitational effects of the sun and the moon would cause the orbit to regress so that its inclination would change with respect to the equator; and 3. Solar pressure would distort the orbit from circular to elliptical and back again over a one-year period. In addition, there would be an effective altitude change which
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