0883-6272/86 + .00 Copyright 0 1986 SUNSAT Energy Council SOLAR POWER SATELLITE CONCEPT REVISITED PETER E. GLASER Vice President Arthur D. Little, Inc. Cambridge, Massachusetts 02140, USA Abstract — The continued evolution of the solar power satellite (SPS) concept is reviewed. The advances in generic technologies applicable to the SPS resulting from the growth of commercial activities in space, the Space Station program and the strategic defense initiative are highlighted. The growing international literature on the SPS is cited to indicate that this concept continues to receive consideration. Significant developments, including photovoltaic and solar dynamic conversion, space experiments to test performance of critical technologies, power distribution subsystems, automation and teleoperators that are advancing the feasibility of the SPS are discussed. The possibility of a return to the Moon and uses of lunar resources for SPS construction are mentioned as examples of space missions that will contribute to the buildup of the industrial infrastructure that can be the foundation for SPS development. INTRODUCTION The energy dilemma that grabbed the headlines in the 1970s is now relegated to the back pages of the daily newspapers. The shortages uppermost in the minds of political leaders have seemingly disappeared, bumper stickers are no longer fashionable, and public interest groups are venting their passions in support of other causes. However, still lurking beneath the surface of present inattention are the intractable problems of finding long-term solutions to energy supply and demand which are being bequeathed to future generations. The availability of energy on a global scale to meet the needs of the still expanding populations is by no means assured, environmental effects of non-renewable fossil and nuclear fuels are only imperfectly understood, and there is a dearth of potential options that could be exercised to ensure the evolutionary transition to inexhaustible or renewable energy resources. The advances in the fields of solar energy conversion and space technology during the past 25 years demonstrated that distributed and centralized solar energy conversion systems on Earth and in space could assure the long-term energy future of this civilization. The solar power satellite (SPS) concept has continued to evolve since it was first proposed in 1968 into one of the potential options for meeting future global energy demands (1). The advances in technology that enhance the feasibility of the SPS concept are occurring on many fronts as a result of several significant developments, including the Space Station program, the growth of commercial activities in space and the strategic defense initiative. President Reagan’s directive to NASA to develop a permanently manned space station within a decade, coupled with the recognition that “space holds enormous potential for commerce today,” and his stated aim “to encourage industry to move
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