CHARACTERIZATION OF SPS REFLECTED LIGHT - BOEING STUDY The first step in determining the environmental effects of the reflected light was the characterization of thelight based on the preliminary reference system. This was done by scientists at the Boeing Company in Seattle and reported in "Satellite Power System Brightness Due to Reflected Light", D0E/ER-0081. Some findings of the Boeing Study are abstracted below. For details of methodology, etc., see the complete report. The development and operation of a Satellite Power System would place very large structures in orbit around earth for several decades. Sunlight reflected off such structures, particularly specular components from large flat areas, would be expected to create ground illumination that would attract observers. In order to assure that this illumination would not exceed the irradiance tolerances of the eye, reflections from these satellites would need to be carefully controlled by vehicle orientation and surface specifications. The solar power satellites (SPS) at qeosynchronous earth orbit (GEO) would have 55 km2 of glass-covered solar cells that were oriented normal to the sun, as well as a 1 km2 microwave antenna. Transportation of construction materials from low earth orbit )LEO to GEO would require Orbit Transfer Vehicles (OTV's) that had 1.6 km solar panels oriented normal to the sun during their 6-month transits. The Staging Base (SB) at LEO, which would accommodate OTV fabrication and cargo transfer, would consist of 0.5 km arms protruding from a .44 km2 open grid aligned with its orbit plane. Diffuse reflections would make the SB/OTV's readily discernible in the daytime and the OTV's and SPS's observable all night (except during eclipse). Sporadic specular glints would appear on the ground from the OTV's and SPS's near the midnight meridian, from the solar panel surfaces of OTV's during LEO fabrication around midday, and from OTV's near LEO at dawn and dusk. The ground illumination from sunlight reflections off the Space Power System spacecraft was evaluated from the Preliminary Reference System. A variety of configurations, orientations, and operational conditions were considered in this analysis. Because of the expectation that these vehicles
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