Senator Ford. Well, we were doing pretty well until you said something—you said one never knows, and I don't know whether I am going to get up in the morning or not, but I hope so and I plan for it. Dr. Heiss. For example, what will birds do? Will they assemble on these antennas or not? Senator Ford. We have got some blackbirds down in Kentucky, we will let you have them on those antennas. [Laughter.] It might be a blessing, you know. Dr. Heiss. You also have some good chicken. Senator Ford. They roost at a lower level than birds. Dr. Heiss. But again, you know, there are some times things that one does not discover initially, which then turn up and are important. So I think, yes, it is clean, but it deserves considerable study. Senator Ford. Well, I hope the birds won't bother you too much. This power relav system involves mirrors in space to allow the transport of power from remote areas on Earth to areas of great energy demand on Earth. Now, am I correct in what you are saying? Dr. Greenblat. Essentially. The satellite does not involve a mirror, but it would act essentially—you could call it a mirror, but it is not technically a mirror. It bounces off----- Senator Ford. Yes, we understand, it is a mirror concept, though, I think. Is your conclusion that if the distance is less than 3,500 miles that it is better to use conventional methods? Dr. Greenblat. The systems we have studied, yes, definitely. Senator Ford. What are the alternatives? How about shipping fuel, such as coal and oil? Dr. Greenblat. Well, we said that depends on 3,500 nautical miles. In other words, within the United States, the existing or projected future transmission systems are preferred over a power relay satellite. However, if you want to transmit it internationally for some reason, then our studies show that the power relay satellite may be competitive with, say, LNG tankers and other types of systems. But within, the United States, or continental United States, the conventional or expected systems would—are cost-effective, they are preferred over the power relay satellite. Senator Ford. Well, are we saying that we are getting ready to develop something that conventional types would be much better than? Dr. Greenblat. Well, the power relay—sir, let me make sure that we are talking about—two things—we looked at two systems, the power relay satellite is for transmission only, the satellite solar power station is generation. Our positive conclusion was with respect to the satellite solar power station, that is, we should go ahead with a 4- to 5-year R. & D. type program. For the power relay satellite, that is, the transmission system that we studied—and that was the reason for the earlier confusion—I understood that you had asked me about the power relay satellite. It is that for which we would say we do not see within the United States any future conditions under which it would be competitive. So according to our decision plan, we would say the decision to work further on this concept is not warranted.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTU5NjU0Mg==