Chapter Five THE SPS AND STANDARDS RELATING TO EXPOSURE TO MICROWAVES 5.1 Transmission to Earth by Microwave of Solar Energy An operational SPS will capture solar energy at geostationary orbital levels and will transmit such energy via microwaves to Earth. In an increasingly power-hungry world such energy will assist very materially in promoting the well-being of mankind. Coupled with the need to obtain and use this natural resource of outer space is the requirement that the capture, transmission, and use not cause detriment generally to the environment and more particularly to earth-based plants and animals. The process of gathering and transmitting solar energy has been described: The electricity from the array would be used to power microwave generators which would feed a large microwave antenna which would transmit a focused microwave beam to a receiving antenna on the ground where the power could be converted to the appropriate voltage and frequency and fed into the local electricity network. Of the power generated by the solar cells, about 20 to 30 percent would be lost in the process of conversion to microwaves, transmission to the ground, and reconversion to electric current At the present there has been little if any experience with the transmission of energy by microwave on a "wholesale" basis from space objects located at geostationary orbital levels. However, dangers and Solar Power Stations in Space, U.N. Doc. A/AC.105/(XIX) CRP.l, p. 4, June 1, 1976.
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