ment and environmental assessment, are effectively covered by the space station experiments as described in the next section. The technological developments remain to be done in order to obtain a design basis for the SPS subsystem. Since several options are conjectured in the subsystem design, the option assessment before baselining the system development is important. Technological problem areas and specific study items relevant to SPS development are listed below. Solar Energy Conversion • Solar cell efficiency and durability — grade up, • High Voltage Solar Array (HVSA) — interaction between high voltage array and ionospheric plasma. Power Transmission and Reception • Electromagnetic compatibility, • Microwave phase control and generation — grade up, • Laser energy transmission and conversion. Transportation • Orbital transfer vehicle — chemical propulsion, • Cargo orbital transfer vehicle — electric propulsion. Structure, Control and Material • Space peculiar disturbance, • Stress propagation, • Dynamic control of flexible structure. Construction, Operation and Maintenance • Robotics, • Man/Machine interaction. It is shown in Table 1 how these items should be covered by SEEL missions and facility provisions. In addition to the items listed above, ground based facilities such as power receivers and converters are to be developed outside the space station plan. The environmental impact assessment is a key issue upon which any sort of energy exploitation is hinged. The assessment items effectively done by the SPS are listed below. Microwave Exposure Effects on Health and Ecosystem • Space workers' safety and protection. Crew Medical Care • Weightless environment, • Ionizing radiation.
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