0883-6272/86 $3.00 + .00 Copyright 1986 SUNSAT Energy Council ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS OF THE SOLAR POWER SATELLITE CONCEPT Or. Peter E. Glaser, Vice President Arthur 0. Little, Inc. Acorn Park, Cambridge, MA. 02140 ABSTRACT The accelerating pace of space missions, the growth of the space industrial infrastructure, and the evolution of humanity beyond the surface of the Earth will require assessments of the environmental impacts of a wide range of space activities. The solar power satellite (SPS) was selected as representative of the capability to develop large-scale spaqe systems and to illustrate the environmental implications involved because the size and scope of the SPS concept assessment were unprecedented in the history of space project evaluations. The key environmental issues addressed include effects on human health and safety, on the ecosystems, and on astronomy. Resource requirements are surveyed and legal issues are discussed, indicating the need to evolve policies, international agreements, and a consensus regarding the future course of SPS development. KEYWORDS Solar power satellite; environmental implications, microwave exposure effects; nonmicrowave effects; atmospheric heating effects; effects on ecosystems; geostationary orbit allocations; effects on astronomy; resource requirments; legal issues. INTRODUCTION The human footprint made on the lunar surface on July 20, 1969, signaled the crossing of an evolutionary threshold. It demonstrated that the limitless energy and material resources of space and the unique environment beyond the Earth's surface are accessible and can be the arena for human activities. In the intervening years since then, the process of building a space industrial infrastructure has begun. Expendable and reusable launch vehicles are forming part of a growing space transportation capability that is making it possible to engage in routine manned operations in orbit. Industry is assessing business opportunities that range from specific commercial products manufactured in space to services provided for spacecraft operators and users to open up markets both in space and on Earth. Potentially, space commerce could be as significant in the 21st century as aviation, electronics, computers, and communications are in the 20th century. As the space industrial infrastructure continues to expand, it will lead to a spectrum of large-scale space missions such as advanced scientific and industrial facilities in low-Earth orbit (LEO), scientific and communications facilities in geosynchronous orbit (GEO), a permanent base on the Moon, a manned expedition to Mars, and the mining of resources on asteroids and other planets, as well as obtaining power from space for use on Earth utilizing Solar Power Satellites (SPS). These missions will require detailed evaluation of technical feasibility, economic viability, environmental implications, and societal consequences. For most advanced space missions, however, environmental impact assessments have not been seriously considered. The exception to this has been the solar power satellite (SPS) concept which is representative of the emerging capability to develop a large-scale space system for converting solar energy to meet the requirements of the global population in the 21st century. The SPS concept has been the subject of studies and assessments in many countries, and a growing literature base attests to the continuing interest in its potential. The fact that its environmental implications must be assessed, evaluated, and quantified was recognized when it was first proposed. While the SPS concept would avoid most of the environmental impacts of terrestrial energy conversion options, it would result in environmental effects that could be quantified only after additional research was performed. A key aspect of the NASA and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) investigations of the SPS was the environmental implications assessments performed as part of the SPS Concept Development and Evaluation Program (CDEP) (DOE, 1980a). The CDEP utilizes the SPS reference system (DOE, 1980b) as a basis for these assessments. The SPS reference system does not represent a preferred engineering approach or design. However, it was characterized in sufficient detail to identify potential constraints in the SPS concept that could make it infeasible and to determine if measures could be taken to mitigate them. 1 Space Solar Power Review, published under the auspices of the Sunsat Energy Council by Pergamon Press.
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