receiving ground area with a diameter of 50m (according to the above mentioned estimation). The limit of this energy concentration depends only on the acceptable irradiance of the converter. Due to this feature of the laser version of SPS, the total number of receiving stations could be significantly less than the number of space laser-solar modules. This fact gives an advantage to the laser version compared to the microwave version. In addition, in the microwave version, the receiving area is approximately the same as that of a conventional ground-based solar plant. (Proc. SPS 97, pp. 99-108). The laser-solar system allows the transmission of laser energy to the ground with an electrical power per unit area which would be hundreds of times better (1-3 GW could be received in an area of 0.002 km2). This feature allows for power transmission from space directly to mobile consumers (eg. to ships or aeroplanes). It can be shown that a receiving system as small as a few meters can be achieved, providing highly efficient reception directly onto the transport unit. The aeroplane version has an advantage due to less dependence on clouds. Generally speaking, the design and production of several commercial electroplanes or possibly laserplanes was technologically possible at the very beginning of the full-scale L-SPS experiment. The transportation of cargo by means of such unusual, environmentally clean planes would be additional bonus with regard to Solar Power Satellites. Due to the special method of pointing of an on-board laser to the receiver by means of laser request the accidental irradiance of other places onto the surface is totally excluded. This version of SPS is very safe. As it was noticed by other authors, the stable operation of the laser version of the SPS global system could be provided by energy transmission to receiving stations, which are not covered by clouds at the moment of reception. This possibility must be exploited. At the same time, there is a new, additional possibility of providing all weather capability to the laser-solar global system and to have a stable network of receiving stations. This would be most convenient. Due to small dimensions of receivers and converters the receiving facility could be placed higher than most clouds (at an altitude of approximately 2 km) by means of balloons (possibly only during the periods when the sky is cloudy). To achieve this, it is necessary to provide a stable transmission of received and converted energy to the ground-based energy grid, and to stabilize the balloon in windy conditions. Such virtually all-weather receiving systems are very promising for the power supply of local consumers, who are unable to be connected to the general energy grid for economic or technical reasons. For example, these techniques could be utilized for local, rural consumers, for island structures and for polar regions, where the use of chemical fuel is not only expensive but also environmentally dangerous due to the slow regeneration of the polar landscape. Performing a full-scale L-SPS experiment would eliminate the large gap that one usually has between global projects of energy production in space, and local,
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