Even supposing that utilization of solar energy or nuclear fusion provides limitless supplies of energy, raw materials on which to apply the energy are finite. In other words, the problem we must address is not energy itself but the human desire for limitless energy. Now inhabitants on this planet have to restore the harmony on the whole world. This does not simply mean that we must abandon our advanced civilization or change our life style into extremely low energy consuming way as in the primitive era. We have to construct the new civilization in which energy supply and demand are balanced by the way harmless to the Earth. To realize such a civilization, for the sake of developing the new technology, self-developed motivations inside human to protect not only himself but also other humans and environment will be critical. Without the motivations to protect ourselves, all efforts that we have made to develop space solar power program would have no value. 6.5 Planning and Scheduling If energy is transmitted through the atmosphere by means of electromagnetic radiation, part of the energy is dissipated in the atmosphere and can cause several effects: ohmic heating, thermal selffocusing, molecular absorption losses and scattering, as shown in section 6.1.1. Considering the effects of several frequencies in the microwave and infrared range, we suggest the use of microwave frequencies 2.45 GHz or 35 GHz. Each frequency has however, advantages and disadvantages. Considering the use of visible laser beam usage for power transmission, the energy density on the ground must be less than IO'6 W/cm2 to prevent injury to sensitive biological tissues such as the retina of humans and other animals. If we use microwave frequencies around 2.5 GHz, the power density upon the uncontrolled common animals (including humans) should be less than 0.5 mW/cm2 in order to prevent most defined and as yet not well defined biological effects. As yet there has been no substantial research into the effects of microwave frequencies around 35 GHz on biota. Precise prediction of microwave effects on plants are impossible to determine because there has been too little research on this subject as well.. Consequently, a prediction about the overall ecosystem is also impossible based the present data accumulation. We must therefore design and implement basic research experiments in order to answer the remaining questions of power beaming effects on biota. Considering Demonstration 2, the space to Antarctica power beaming, it is a concern that the proposed demonstration may have an overall negative effect on the biota and the space to Earth demonstration should utilize another receiving environment. Microwaves at high powers can be harmful to electronic devices. Radio communication using frequencies in the same band as the solar power satellite beam may be interfered by the power beam, but we do not expect to have any serious effects on other commercial equipment from a solar power satellite beam outside the main lobe. A solar power satellite beam may interact with low amplitude (weak) signals which are utilized for radio astronomy and more work must be done on this area to identify any potential problems. In the case of the proposed demonstrations, only a few launches will be involved. The impact of a limited number of launches is considered to be minimal on a global scale. On the other hand, the construction of a large scale solar power satellite might require hundreds of launches per year for many years. Such a large number of launches has effects on the atmosphere which are difficult to assess. Nonetheless, major potential problems include the production of long lasting contaminants in the mesosphere which might perturb remote sensing. In addition, there may be plasma density perturbations in the ionosphere and magnetosphere which might result in communication interference. Effects of large numbers of launches and resulting pollution on biota are not yet established and more research in this area needs to be done. In the on-orbit construction of a space structure such as the large solar power station it is inevitable that there will be a requirement for manned activities. The identification of safety concerns and the provision of necessary medical care thus becomes an essential component of Space Solar Power Program. As well, both intravehicular and extravehicular life support structures must be designed in order house the crew and allow for safe construction to occur. Radiation exposure, cardiovascular deconditioning, musculo-skeletal degradation, decompression sickness, space adaptation syndrome, and crew make up are all factors that pose special problems for manned construction of a large space structure. Medical facilities need to be tailored to the needs of space construction and medical events that exceed these capabilities must be transported back to Earth. Development of a hard-shell, high pressure extravehicular suit is required to protect against radiation, decompression sickness, and possible debris in the construction site.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTU5NjU0Mg==