3. SPS DEMONSTRATION SATELLITE SALVAGE ALTERNATIVES * According to the Rockwell International SPS development program plan, the completion of the SPS Technology Advancement phase by 1990 will provide the technical confidence to proceed with a pilot plant demonstration phase. The primary objective of this development phase would be the demonstration of all SPS technologies to those utility firms and consortiums that would ultimately capitalize and operate the production or full scale operational system. The pilot-plant or demonstration satellite will be constructed in low earth orbit using a heavy lift launch vehicle (HLLV) for mass transportation and construction support systems. The demonstration satellite will be transferred to geosynchronous orbit by an on-board electric propulsion system. The demonstration satellite will operate in the same mode as the full-scale SPS satellite by directing a microwave power beam at a total power level of a few hundred MW to a standard modular segment of the proposed operational ground rectenna. The demonstration/operational period may range from six months to a few years, during which time the SPS elements of the full-scale solar power satellite will be operated in the operational environment. Operational data will provide the quantitative basis for analyses which will support full SPS commercial capability. The initial step will be to establish a base in low-earth orbit that is capable of constructing the demonstration satellite. The demonstrator satellite, shown near completion in Figure 3.1, is sized to the projected electric orbit transfer vehicle (EOTV) power level of 335 MW at the array. Allowing for radiation degradation * Satellite Power Systems (SPS) Concept Definition Study, Final Report, Vol. 1, Rockwell International, Contract NAS8-32475, March 1979.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTU5NjU0Mg==