(3) Transportation (4) Assembly in orbit. Exhibit 55 summarizes the two most comprehensive treatments of these costs by component. Although the categories differ somewhat as between ECON (Ref. All) and JPL (Ref. A9), certain general conclusions can be drawn which are supported by other references as well. The two most important cost elements are clearly the energy conversion system and the transportation element. Together, these two components account for approximately 70 percent of the total capital costs. The cost of the microwave transmission system, including the receiving antenna and energy conversion equipment account for 19-24 percent of the total, with assembly and other major costs accounting in total for less than 10 percent. It should be noted, however, that the assembly component can exert considerable cost leverage indirectly through the transportation component since all on-orbit assembly personnel and equipment must be transported to orbit. Within the framework of total capital costs, the energy conversion and transportation components are simultaneously the largest dollar components, the most uncertain, and the ones which require the most dramatic technological breakthroughs to acconplish the projected unit cost reductions. c. Energy Conversion System Cost Much of the discussion of energy conversion costs focuses on the issue of the cost of the solar array which, in turn, consists primarily of the cost of the solar blanket. The solar blanket contains the photovoltaic cells, together with the required lamination and substrate. The critical cost driver is the cost per kilowatt of the solar cells themselves. The target project costs are in the general area of $200 per kilowatt of power delivered from the solar blanket. This, in turn, represents a cost of $360 to $540 per kilowatt delivered at the earth busbar due to efficiency losses in conversion to and from microwave energy and transmission.
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