Space Solar Power Review Vol 13 Num 1&2

The reflector design concentrated on structural design approaches that have the potential to reach mass, flatness, and packaging targets, and on a scheme for deployment and assembly in GEO. The structural design approach is central to the technical and economic feasibility of the reflector concept. Consideration was also given to attitude control and station keeping and other subsystems. In addition to low mass per unit area, packaging for delivery is a primary design driver for a structure as large as the microwave reflector. A 100-t launch vehicle and an efficient electric-propulsion orbital transfer delivery system will be required. The number of launches, if mass-limited, is expected to be between 15 and 20 for each reflector. A typical shroud size for such a launcher is 10 m usable diameter and 30 m usable length; these were adopted as a reference capability. The usable volume is 2356 m^ per launch, a total no greater than 235,600 m^ The volume of the deployed reflector is hundred times greater than the available packaging volume.

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