Executive Summary I. Problem Statement A little over a decade ago, the concept of space solar power for Earth effectively died after a National Academy of Sciences critique of the landmark 20 Million US$ NASA/DOE study of a Solar Power Satellite (SPS) reference system recommended against implementation due to high costs and uncertainties. In the present work we do not set out to resurrect the five gigawatt-level point design of the NASA/DOE study, but instead attempt to reincarnate the “spirit” of space solar power into a new and improved body. The concept of space solar power as envisioned by Peter Glaser in 1968 was to provide for the Earth's energy needs through the use of satellites in geosynchronous orbit. These satellites would be equipped with solar arrays to capture the Sun's energy and transmitters to beam this energy down to the Earth in the form of microwaves. The rationale for undertaking this formidable program was to provide a solution to an even greater problem: namely, the coupling of the projected increase in the world's energy demand with the destructive effects of their continued use, on the global environment. The energy demand increase seems unavoidable: the developed world can only marginally reduce its actual usage rate by conservation, if it is to maintain present living standards, and the developing world will require a large increase in its energy consumption if it is ever to achieve industrialization and a better life. This dilemma is compounded by two factors: the vast majority of the projected doubling of the world's population is expected to take place in these developing countries, effectively increasing demand; and the reserves of these nonrenewable fossil fuels are steadily decreasing, absolutely limiting supply. Thus the energy problem can be characterized by both global and local resource availability, environmental effects, and cost impacts of energy allocation. It would be unethical for the developed world to place restrictions on increased energy usage by developing countries, particularly considering the fact that to date, the “developed” countries are responsible for the largest part of the damage inflicted upon the global environment. It is also irrational to expect the developing countries themselves to forego their own development for the sake of the preservation of the world's environment. Hence, if their inevitable development is achieved though the use of fossil fuels, the entire global environment will suffer. Consequently it is in the developed countries' own best interests to create new environmentally safe energy sources capable of meeting future global needs. Therefore what is desperately needed is an alternative energy source that is both cost-effective and “clean.” Although there are several possible solutions, one which has tremendous potential to serve as the energy source of the future is space solar power. It is effectively inexhaustible, relying as it does on the Sun's energy; it has the capability to deliver energy directly to the users who need it most; also, unlike terrestrial solar power, which is limited by nighttime, weather, land use, and storage considerations, space solar power has the potential to deliver energy continuously. What is of paramount importance is the projection that space solar power minimally affects the environment, especially with regard to the problems of global warming and pollution. If this hypothesis is confirmed and the effects are indeed minimal, then space solar power would become increasingly attractive in the future. We feel that both its environmental benefits and potential side-effects deserve full and early investigation. But before continuing, we should explain who “we” are. We are 97 students from 22 countries who attended the fifth International Space University (ISU) summer session, held in Kitakyushu, Japan, from June 16th to August 26th, 1992, in part to study space solar power. We were assisted by a diverse faculty having both general and solar-power-specific space expertise. ISU is an emerging multidisciplinary institution attended not only by engineers and scientists, but also by architects, business people, medical doctors, lawyers, and a variety of professionals brought together by their common interest in space development. Since one of the founding philosophies of ISU is to promote international endeavors into space, our specified task has been to serve as analysts for a hypothetical client: an international consortium of governments and/or industries interested in space solar power. Specifically, our assignment has been to “produce an overall development program plan for the demonstration, testing and early commercial development of space beamed power systems up to and including
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