Settlement of disputes poses other questions. Will there be mandatory jurisdiction? What kind of jurisdiction will it be; arbitral, judicial, or some other type? What procedures will be followed? 5 Technical Issues Short Term Technical Issues This section is divided in the same way as previous sections; (1) demonstration, testing and early commercial development and (2) large scale commercial applications. The focus of the questions related to near-term demonstration, testing and early commercial development will be on those issues which demonstrate technical feasibility of beamed power and which need to be resolved to enable follow-on large scale power production. Results from near-term demonstrations will be used in the process of scale-up for large scale production. The definition of the near-term demonstration task will evolve and should emphasize communication with the long-term task in an iterative process. As problems that need early demonstration or proof of concept are encountered in the development of large commercial applications, they can be incorporated into the demonstration task.-Three major areas of technical issues for near-term demonstration, testing and early commercial developments are discussed; power system, spacecraft, and technology development. Beam Characteristics Energy transmitting characteristics have to be selected during the first stages of the program so that the demonstration of the Space Solar Power Program is demonstrating fully all possibilities of beamed power. There are several possible methods to transmit energy from space to earth. Methods vary from passive mirrors reflecting the surlight to earth to active beam generators. The frequency as well as the power density for an active beam generator should be selected so that there is minimal attenuation in the atmosphere. The power density has to be large enough to increase the efficiency of the power transmission link, but low enough to prevent any effects caused by energy absorption of the atmosphere. Safety issues are discussed in section “Environmental & Safety Aspects” Although microwave beaming seems to be the best choice at the moment, the alternatives should at least be analyzed. The development of techniques and materials may change the effectiveness of different methods. Power Conversion What is the best and most efficient conversion method from solar energy to a beam transmitted down to earth? The conversion should be as efficient as possible. The best solution might be to convert the entire spectra that the sun radiates. The present technology is however not so efficient. For a realizable power station, there are only few narrow bands on the radiation that can be converted to other energy forms. Integration of SPS Power to Existing Electricity Power Networks This is a most fundamental question which must be addressed. The outcome of this demonstration will determine how much funding power companies and other financial institutions will be willing to invest in any form of commercial SPS project. The demonstration will be very limited in the amount of power it can supply to the electricity grid, but it should show the scalability of any solution and the possibility for future development. Power Beaming Pointing Efficiency To gain public confidence in the use of microwave beamed power, any demonstration will have to show that the energy source is directable. It should also show the safety aspects of the system i.e. shutdown if pointing becomes a problem. If SSPP is adopted as a large producer of energy then the pointing efficiency could become a legal requirement of this kind of system. This capability will also impact on the ability of the system to produce a constant supply of power. Electromagnetic Interference SSPP Task A raised a number of questions concerning electromagnetic,interference with existing users of the spectrum: for example, telecommunications and radio astronomy. Obviously electromagnetic interference problems will be a function of the SPS transmission frequency, and
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