• Techniques for manufacturing and assembling components in orbit; • System stability and control; • Microwave generation and transmission - including the development of DC-to-RF converters and filters, the development of waveguide materials, phase front control, control of the transmitting antenna attitude, control or suppression of radio frequency interference; • Mechanical systems - including rotary joints, slip rings, motor drives, and switch gears; and • Stationkeeping systems — including ion engine development. During this first phase, assessment of environmental and socio-economic issues should proceed in parallel. Analysis of these issues will provide feedback into the design and development process and help assure that the technology can be designed to minimize any adverse impacts. At the end of the first phase, the subsystems and system functions would be verified.in an orbiting test facility which may take the form of a space station. In parallel with the definition of the SSPS technology, the development, production and operation of the space transportation system for materials, equipment, and personnel from launch through deployment for the specified mission orbit would proceed. The development of the space transportation systems would include the development of the second-generation space shuttle, transfer vehicles between low-Earth orbit and synchronous orbit, orbital propellant storage, and maneuvering vehicles to transport equipment, materials and propellants to the vicinity of the assembly site. The development of the space transportation system would coincide with the assembly of a large prototype SSPS which should be operated long enough to provide data and experience to guide the design of the full scale operational unit of about 5000 MW. After the successful completion of the second phase of the SSPS development program, the emphasis would shift to mass producing SSPS, to provide at least 100 units by the year 2025. This development program is geared to achieve commercialization of the SSPS a few years before the year 2000 so this option for the large-scale use of solar energy can play an increasingly important role in the generation of power on a world-wide scale in the 21st century.
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