Design of a Solar Power Satellite for Construction from Lunar Materials GREGG E. MARYNIAK & BRIAN TILLOTSON Summary Solar Power Satellites may be constructed from materials mined on the Moon and transported into free space by means of an electromagnetic catapult called a mass-driver. Both the mass-driver and the chemical processing techniques required to obtain construction materials from lunar soil have been demonstrated in the laboratory. A Solar Power Satellite has been designed for construction from lunar materials. This design requires only 1% of its mass from the Earth. Rationale for Use of Non-Terrestrial Materials The principal barrier to space operations is currently the high cost of launching material into space from the Earth's surface. One way to improve the economics of space operations is to use material already in space for space construction. The concept of using local sources of supply for construction is found throughout history. Early settlers of new lands did not carry building materials but instead brought only their tools, and used locally available resources for construction and supply. One local source of supply in space is the Moon. Lunar soil contains oxygen, silicon, iron, aluminium, magnesium, titanium and other useful materials. These materials can be launched into free space for about 1/22 the amount of energy required for Earth escape. The lack of atmosphere on the Moon also makes possible delivery of materials into space without expensive rocketry. Packets of lunar soil may be catapulted into free space using an electromagnetic launcher called a mass-driver. The stream of packets is captured near the Moon and can be processed into the feedstock for space construction and industry. Mass-drivers with accelerations approaching 1800 gravities have been demonstrated by the Space Studies Institute (SSI) in laboratories at Princeton University. In addition, the chemical processing of lunar materials has been carried out under an SSI research programme. During the late 1970s the Convair division of General Dynamics looked at the possibility of producing Solar Power Satellites (SPS) from lunar materials. Although the terms of the Convair study allowed only minor changes to an earlier Boeing design (the Earth baseline design), the study concluded that about 90% of such an SPS could be constructed from lunar materials. Gregg E. Maryniak, Executive Vice President, Space Studies Institute, Box 82, Princeton, NJ 08540, USA; Brian Tillotson, Director of Research, Space Research Associates, 22907 NE 15th Place, Redmon, WA 98053, USA.
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