tion; unique support systems, including space assembly facilities discussed before; launch facilities; maintenance and resupply systems; ground systems, including receiving antennas, grid interfaces, and control systems. Like Dr. Glaser's satellite, our Powersat would generate electricity in geosynchronous orbit and transmit that energy to Earth. The satellite would be illuminated more than 99 percent of the time by sunlight undistrubed by Earth's atmosphere or weather. The essential difference between our configuration and Dr. Glaser's resides in the method of converting this sunlight to electrical power. We would utilize a heat engine converter rather than solar cells. Now, I would like to draw your attention to this model here, which is a module of the satellite—it takes four of these to make the satellite. Senator Ford. It takes four? Mr. Taylor. It takes four of these modules, as we envision it now, for one satellite. This is composed of about 5,000 acres of plastic mirrors which focus the Sun's rays into this central cavity—and that is the heat source then to drive turbines which would be on the periphery of the large red ball there. The detail doesn't show the turbines on the outside which would drive then the generator. The generators, alternators, would then generate the power. These large black objects on the side then radiate the waste energy to the atmosphere. Now, to give you some idea of the size of that—in contrast, this is the Rose Bowl, which most of you know what it looks like on the upper half of this little plaque. This is about 2 miles across, so when you string four of them together, you get a satellite of about 8 or 9 miles in length. We have emphasized, in this situation the turbine generator converter because we feel that they are achievable within a natural growth of the current technology. In other words, we believe that we have developed a concept that does not demand any great technological breakthrough. The solar cell option, however, is also very attractive. If the necessary technological breakthroughs do occur, the economics of photovoltaic power satellites could compare favorably with the heat engine option. Once the electric power is generated up there, as I mentioned, whether it be by heat engines or solar cells, it is routed to a phased array RF generator where it is converted to a narrow microwave beam. This beam can be directed to ground-based receiving antennas located at any point on Earth visible to the satellite. Since it will be in geosynchronous orbit, it will be looking at the same spot. Now, on this plaque here, I have shown, in comparison to the size of a single satellite—four elements—one ground receiving antenna. And we envision this antenna to be elevated from the Earth in such a way that the land could be farmed underneath it. Senator Ford. You mean there would be no problem, it I might interject here, with use of the acreage under the receiver? Mr. Taylor. Yes. The flux density in this area would be such that it could be farmed underneath it. And the energy on the periphery of this, similar to Dr. Glaser's, is within the U.S. safety standard, currently at 10 milliwatts.
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