1. INTRODUCTION: PRAGMATIC RATIONALE FOR A POWERSAT DEMONSTRATOR Despite renewed interest in Solar Power Satellites and in the more recent space-based Powersat concepts, both have a long way to go if they are to become a generally accepted route to take for space power. In-roads have already been made, such as the establishment of the two NASA Centers for Space Power, but these are just the beginning. Of all the problems, the education process is the most challenging. This will be a long-term and necessary activity if an operational Powersat is eventually to be launched. This situation is no different than for any new idea, and especially ones that are fundamentally different from more conventional choices. It was. for example, many years before the aircraft became generally accepted as a transportation capability that could be exploited in a cost-effective manner. The status of the Powersat would change significantly from its current position of simply a "paper idea” to a more widely understood concept if a demonstration of the practically of power transmission and reception in space could be performed. Thus, not only would a demonstrator act as a means to prove the basic technical feasibility of Powersats, but. equally importantly, it would draw needed attention to the concept as a viable proposition for future space development planning. This is a “Catch-22“ situation, of course. To release significant funding to build a demonstrator may necessitate that the idea is already well accepted. However, the difficulty this poses is really a function of how much a Powersat demonstrator would cost. A Powersat demonstrator program that requires the development of a large communication satellite-sized spacecraft and a dedicated/shared launch, will cost upward of 100 MAU if the mission is undertaken within a European context. Launch costs alone would be 40-50
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