1.0 SUMMARY 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, is expected to create ground illumination that will attract observers. In order to assure that this illumination does not exceed the irradiance tolerances of the eye, reflections from these satellites must be carefully controlled by vehicle orientation and surface specifications. The solar power satellite (SPS) at geosynchronous earth orbit (GEC) has 55 km of glass covered solar cells that are oriented normal to the sun, as well as a 1 km microwave antenna. Transportation of construction materials from low earth orbit (LEO) to GEO) requires 23 Orbit Transfer Vehicles (OTVs) that have 1.6 km solar panels oriented normal to the sun during their 6 month transits. The Staging Base (SB) at LEO, that accommodates OTV fabrication and cargo transfer, consists of 0.5 km arms protruding from a .44 km open grid aligned with its orbit plane. Diffuse reflections would make the SB/OTVs readily discernible in the daytime and the OTVs and SPSs observable all night (except during eclipse). Sporadic specular glints would appear on the ground from the OTVs and SPSs near the midnight meridian, from the solar panel surfaces of OTVs during LEO fabrication around midday, and from OTVs near LEO at dawn and dusk. The ground level irradiance has been evaluated for several unusually bright 1 2 configurations using the present system design. * The brightest specular reflection is produced during the daytime by the aluminized backside of the OTV as it nears completion in LEO during the solstices. Assuming the panel surfaces are misaligned by 1.5° overall, the irradiance is 2 W/m in a spot about 25 km across (a perfectly flat surface would produce 19 W/m in an 8 km spot) moving at the satellite speed of 8 km/ sec. The cover glass on the front side of the OTV solar cells produces 16 times less illumination. At night the brightest specular reflection is from the SPS antenna around the equinoxes. This flat aluminum surface produces an irradiance of 0.01 W/m in a spot about 350 km across which moves at 150 km/sec as the
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