subsystems was still in progress. Transport of the finished spacecraft to the launch site would take place in the end of 1998 for a launch in early 1999. Most of the necessary equipment would be fairly easy to design and construct; the only question would be procurement of the inflatable reflector. Meeting the 1999 launch date would be essential, as the last ASAP launches are planned for sometime in that period, after which launches will be carried out mainly by the Ariane-5. An Ariane-5 ASAP ring is planned and could probably be used to launch a similar experiment (possibly even one of greater size), but the time-frame for such a system is presently unknown. Alternative Possibilities The design presented above was oriented at producing a quick and dirty solution to the problem. As an alternative, or a follow-up mission, it might be interesting to try a similar experiment on a slightly larger scale. Using a dedicated launch of a Pegasus or Delta to put a larger inflatable collector into a higher orbit has very interesting possibilities. Echo 1 and 2, launched in 1960 and 1964, were aluminized mylar balloons of 30.5 and 40 meters in diameter, respectively. They were the first man-made objects in space to be visible from Earth with the naked eye. Over thirty years later it should surely be possible to produce an inflatable reflector of 100 or even 200 meters in diameter. Such a large satellite could receive tens of kilowatts of power in a relatively debris-free 1200 km polar orbit and really give some interesting insights into the problems of transmitting and receiving high power levels. Or if distance beaming or long-term continuous beaming was the technology that needed to be demonstrated, such a huge structure could receive significant levels of power even at GEO. At the other end of the spectrum, it has been suggested that some military spy satellites may already have on board equipment capable of receiving and measuring incident microwave power. A program using these existing assets instead of requiring launch of a separate satellite would cost next to nothing. References [1] AKIBA, R., K MIURA, M HINADA, H MATSUMOTO, AND N KAYA (1993) ISY-METS Rocket Experiment, ISAS Report #652, Kanagawa ISSN #0285-6808 [2] NAGATOMO. N. AND I. KIYOHIKO (1991), An Evolutionary Satellite Power System for Inter-national Demonstration in Developing Nations 2nd International Symposium SPS 91: “Power from Space”, Paris/ Gif-sur-Yvette. [3] GLASER, P, (1991) The Solar Power Satellites Option Re-examined 2nd International Symposium SPS91: “Powerfrom Space”, Paris/ Gif-sur-Yvette. [4] STEIN, KENNETH J., “BMEWS Update Program Progresses at Thule Site”, A WST, pp 90-91, August 20, 1984.
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