hardware issues for the SPS designs are: (1) can the necessary large flight worthy equipment be developed to meet the unprecedented electrical requirements? (2) will the equipment meet performance and life goals? These issues require resolution through a Ground Based Exploratory Development (GBED) program. Important issues that could benefit through exploratory development are tabulated in Table 1. The necessity for detailed investigations can be illustrated by considering power processing, space plasma interactions and energy storage. TABLE 1. ISSUE TREE High performance power processors are required for several system concepts of the SPS. Typical designs require 9 x 10G kW as input power to the satellite r-f converters to deliver 5 x 106 kW to the ground utility grid. Existing satellite power processors, with specific weights of 10 kg/kW, would add a clearly unacceptable 90 x 106 kg to an SPS reference designs having a total weight of 30 to 50 x 10G kg. Conceptual studies performed by Westinghouse and GE have projected that specific weights might be reduced to the range of 1 to .2 kg/kW. Although PDS designs strive to minimize power processing requirements, the effect that this type of uncertainty has on system level studies should be apparent. The interaction between high voltage solar arrays and the space plasma is complex and made uncertain by the difficulty in obtaining credible test data. It is generally believed that present solar array designs will not operate satisfactorily at voltages above 400V. The major concern at this time is in finding a solution
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