INTRODUCTION When Dr. Peter Glaser in 1968 for the first time proposed Satellite Solar Power Stations (SSPS) to generate electricity for earth, he made a big step towards realisation of an old idea of Hermann Oberth. Glaser was stimulated by the 1960 experiments of William Brown of Raytheon Co. to transmit larger amounts of energy by microwaves, and by the fact, that in certain orbits the sun is shining over 99 % of the year with full intensity without being attenuated or scattered by weather or by the day and night cycle. Since that time several conceptual designs of Solar Power Satellites (SPS) have been investigated and a very large number of studies in that field has been conducted, nearly all of them in the USA and only a very few in Europe. The support of NASA started in 1972, when the feasibility study on SPS was conducted under the leadership of Arthur D. Little, Inc. In 1977 the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) became responsible for all SPS activities and a three-year "Concept Evaluation" programme was started with several studies in the technical areas being managed by NASA, and DOE itself directs studies in the field of social, economical, ecological and environmental impacts of SPS. This programme will end in mid 1980. Presently, there can be seen SPS to be a real chance for an ecological and economical future energy source with several advantages compared to conventional ones and others of to-day (potential less pollution and other environment burdening, unexhaus- tible energy source) .
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