technology that was considered by the NASA-DOE joint investigation. By utilizing high frequencies—500 GHz—the antenna/rectenna sizes and transmission efficiencies are reasonable. HTSC technology will play a major role in developing the components for beam power that will make beam power an option for some applications. NASA is investigating general applications of beam power transmission—the concept of ‘power without wires’ (Fig. 2). A possibility is to provide power for planetary rovers (Fig. 3) where the power is supplied from an orbiting station. In these applications the benefits accrue from the fact that each separate surface entity does not require its own power system and thus increases its ‘payload’ or its mission flexibility. Figure 4 shows the Canadian beam powered aircraft concept which has been successfully demonstrated. Critical technology areas for beamed power have been identified. Gyratron development and antenna/rectenna technology are areas where additional work is required. However, at this time no real impediments to this technology are evident. A Lewis Research Center-Langley Research Center jointly sponsored workshop, The Second Beam Power Workshop was held at the Langley Research Center of NASA this year to assess the beam power technologies and their applications [12]. HTSC technology will play a dominant role in the viability of ‘power without wires’. Lewis Research Center—Argonne National Laboratory The HTSC aspect of the above described work was carried out under a joint agreement between the Lewis Research Center of NASA and the Argonne National
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTU5NjU0Mg==