1980 Solar Power Satellite Program Review

HIGH-POWER MICROWAVE OPTICS... utilities would find their generating facilities in space hundreds of times closer together than on the ground, permitting inexpensive load smoothing across time zones. Indeed, such load smoothing encourages satellites with international coverage approaching hemispheric, making international ownership of the ''industrial park" a natural (and stabilizing) institutional arrangement. TABLE 1: Comparison of a 50 GW Satellite to the Reference System Microwave mirror: adds about 0.2 kg/kW, assuming a 5 km mirror with a mass of 500 gm/nr. Ballast: adds about 0.3 kg/kw. Conductors: add about 0.5 kg/kW, without reoptimization. Solar mirror: adds about 0.4 kg/kW, assuming mirrors with a mass of 20 gm/m2 (JPL's solar sails were under 10 gm/mz). Main masts: add about 0.01 kg/kW, assuming 3 * 10“^ kg/N-m. Solar array: essentially the same mass per unit power. Phased array: may save up to about 0.8 kg/kW, depending on the fraction of power in tophat-profile beams. Thus, the capabilities described in this paper may be acquired by adding some 30% to the reference system mass, largely in the form of structure, conductor, and ballast. In an era of maturing space technology, these may plausibly be obtained at low cost from nonterrestrial sources. The mass that may be saved in the phased array (up to some 15%) is apt to be of greater value because of its greater sophistication. Acknowledgment: Special thanks to Carolyn Henson for suggesting that the satellite might be treated as an industrial park. References: 1) K.E. Drexler and T.A. Heppenheimer, "On the feasibility of small power satellites." Journal of Energy, 1^:200 (1977) • 2) K.E. Drexler and B.R. Sperber, "An aperture-augmented prototype power satellite." Journal of Energy, 2:318 (1978). 3) J.H. Lang, J.R. Gersh, and D.H. Staelin, "Electrostatically controlled wire-mesh antenna." Electronics Letters, 14:655 (1978). 4) G.W. Goslee, "Electrostatic forming." Large Space Systems Technology, 1979> NASA Conference Publications 2118, p 187. 5) D.C. Montgomery and L.D. Sikes, "Development of the maypole hoop/column deployable reflector concept for large space system applications." Large Space Systems Technology, 1979> NASA Conference Publications 2118, p 115•

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