platforms by a new class of platforms in the 1 to 5 MW class, growing to a total of some 15 to 30 platforms by the year 2030. The larger platforms are likely to be manned either by robots or by two-man crews rotated periodically. The purpose of man will be to effect immediate service, repair and maintenance as necessary to keep the platform properly functioning. The cost of the advanced platforms will be in the range of $2 billion to $10 billion each, and they will have a structure and power supply life approaching 50 years with other systems being updated on about a ten-year cycle. The advanced geosynchronous platforms will be supported by a manned geosynchronous facility which is also likely to be a space-based manufacturing facility to manufacture and rebuild components and subsystems for the geosynchronous and other space platforms. As a result it is likely that 50 to 500 persons will be stationed in geosynchronous orbit in support of the geosynchronous platforms. Spacecraft power and lifetime trends to date, as shown in Figure 2.3, clearly reflect these trends. Twenty-five kW platforms are presently in the planning ♦ stage and studies on 100 to 500 kW platforms for the late 1990s time period have ** already been performed. The continuing improvements in lifetime and growth in power levels shown in Figure 2.3 are fully compatible with SPS-based technologies. It is interesting to consider the traffic necessary to support the geosynchronous platforms that are likely to be put in place in the 2000 to 2030 period. Payloads Requirements/Accommodations Assessment Study for Science and Applications Space Platforms, Second Quarterly Review, TRW, June 10, 1980. Third Quarter Briefing: Conceptual Design Study--Science and Applications Space Platform (SASP), McDonnell Douglas Astronautics Company, June 11, 1980. ♦* Space Industrialization—Background, Needs and Opportunities, Rockwell International, Report No. SD-78-AP-0055, April 14, 1978.
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