Space-based solar power (SBSP) (or historically space solar power- SSP) is a system for the collection of

solar power in space, for use on Earth. SBSP differs from the usual method of solar power collection in
that the solar panels used to collect the energy would reside on a satellite in orbit, often referred to as a
solar power satellite (SPS), rather than on Earth's surface. In space, collection of the Sun's energy is
unaffected by the various obstructions which reduce efficiency or capacities of Earth surface solar power
collection.

The World Radiation Centre's 1985 standard extraterrestrial level for mean solar irradiance at one
astronomical unit from the Sun is 1367 W/m2.[1] The integrated total terrestrial solar irradiance is 950
W/m2.[2] Extraterrestrial solar irradiance is thus 144% of the maximum terrestrial irradiance, and has a
different radiation profile, including wavelengths blocked by the atmosphere. A major interest in SBSP
stems from the length of time the solar collection panels can be exposed to a consistently high amount
of solar radiation. For most of the year, a satellite-based solar panel can collect power 24 hours per day,
whereas a terrestrial station can collect for at most 12 hours per day, if weather permits, and only
during peak hours—irradiance under the best of conditions is quite reduced near sunset and sunrise.

Collection of solar energy in space for use on Earth introduces two new problems and can alleviate an
existing one. First, installation of the collection satellites, and second transmitting energy from them to
the surface for use. The first requires upgrading and extension of existing solar panel technologies. Since
wires extending from Earth's surface to an orbiting satellite are neither practical nor currently possible,
many SBSP designs have proposed the use of microwave beams for wireless power transmission. The
collecting satellite would convert solar energy into electrical energy, powering a microwave emitter
oriented toward a collector on the Earth's surface. Dynamic solar thermal power systems on satellites
are also being investigated. Since the beam can be steered, it can be directed as needed to
accommodate periods of high power use in particular locations (e.g., during the hottest part of the day
in summer, or cold spells in winter). As well, one of the current problems of electricity use is long
distance transmission from generating sites to usage sites. Because at least one type of receiving
antenna, the rectenna, is relatively inexpensive, it may be possible to reduce the need for electricity
transmission lines by sensible siting of receiving antennas, potentially reducing costs and grid
interconnect failures, such as the blackouts of 1965 and 2003.

Some problems normally associated with terrestrial solar power collection would be entirely avoided by
such a design, e.g., dependence on weather conditions, contamination or corrosion, damage by wildlife
or plant encroachment, etc. Other problems will likely be encountered, such as more rapid radiation
damage or micrometeoroid impacts.
Contents [hide]

1 Timeline

2 History

2.1 SERT

3 Advantages

4 Design

4.1 Solar energy conversion (solar photons to DC current)

4.2 Wireless power transmission to the Earth

4.2.1 Microwave power transmission

4.2.2 Laser power beaming experiments

4.3 Spacecraft sizing

4.4 Location

4.4.1 GEO

4.5 LEO/MEO instead of GEO

4.5.1 Moon

4.6 Earth-based infrastructure

5 Dealing with launch costs

5.1 Building from space

5.2 Non-conventional launch methods

6 Counter arguments

6.1 Safety

6.2 Atmospheric damage due to launches

7 In fiction

8 See also

9 References
Timeline

1968: Dr. Peter Glaser introduced the idea of a large solar power satellite system with square miles of
solar collectors in high geosynchronous orbit (GEO is an orbit 36,000 km above the equator), for
collection and conversion of sun's energy into an electromagnetic microwave beam to transmit usable
energy to large receiving antennas (rectennas) on Earth for distribution.

1973: Dr. Peter Glaser was granted U.S. patent number 3,781,647 for his method of transmitting power
over long distances (e.g., from an SPS to the Earth's surface) using microwaves from a large (on the close
order of one square kilometer) antenna on the satellite to a much larger one on the ground, now known
as a rectenna.[3]

1970s: DOE and NASA examined the Solar Power Satellite (SPS) concept extensively, publishing the
design and feasibility studies.

1994: The United States Air Force conducted the Advanced Photovoltaic Experiment using a satellite
launched into low Earth orbit by a Pegasus rocket.

1995–1997: NASA conducted a “Fresh Look” study of space solar power (SSP) concepts and
technologies.

1998: Space Solar Power Concept Definition Study (CDS) identified credible commercially viable SSP
concepts, identifying technical and programmatic risks.

1998: Japan's space agency starts a program for developing a Space Solar Power System (SSPS), which
continues to the present day.

1999: NASA's Space Solar Power Exploratory Research and Technology program (SERT see section
below) program begun.

2000: John Mankins of NASA testified in the U.S. House of Representatives, saying "Large-scale SSP is a
very complex integrated system of systems that requires numerous significant advances in current
technology and capabilities. A technology roadmap has been developed that lays out potential paths for
achieving all needed advances — albeit over several decades.[4]

2001: PowerSat Corporation founded by William Maness.

2001: Dr. Neville Marzwell of NASA stated, "We now have the technology to convert the sun's energy at
the rate of 42 to 56 percent... We have made tremendous progress. ...If you can concentrate the sun's
rays through the use of large mirrors or lenses you get more for your money because most of the cost is
in the PV arrays... There is a risk element but you can reduce it... You can put these small receivers in the
desert or in the mountains away from populated areas. ...We believe that in 15 to 25 years we can lower
that cost to 7 to 10 cents per kilowatt hour. ...We offer an advantage. You don't need cables, pipes, gas
or copper wires. We can send it to you like a cell phone call—where you want it and when you want it,
in real time."[5]
2001: NASDA (Japan's national space agency) announced plans to perform additional research and
prototyping by launching an experimental satellite with 10 kilowatts and 1 megawatt of power.[6][7]

2007: The US Pentagon's National Security Space Office (NSSO) issued a report[8] on October 10, 2007
stating they intend to collect solar energy from space for use on Earth to help the United States' ongoing
relationship with the Middle East and the battle for oil. The International Space Station may be the first
test ground for this new idea, even though it is in a low-earth orbit.

2007: In May 2007 a workshop was held in the USA at MIT to review the current state of the market and
technology.[9]

2009: A new company from the US, Space Energy, Inc., announced plans to provide commercial space-
based solar power. They say they have developed a "rock-solid business platform" and should be able to
provide space-based solar power within a decade.[10]

2009: American company Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) announced it is seeking regulatory approval for
an agreement with Solaren to buy 200 MW of solar power, starting in 2016, which Solaren has plans to
provide via SBSP. PG&E spokesman Jonathan Marshall stated that "We've been very careful not to bear
risk in this."[11][12][13]

2009: PowerSat Corporation filed a patent application concerning ganging multiple power satellites to
form a single coherent microwave beam, and a mechanism to use the solar array to power ion thrusters
to lift a power satellite from LEO to GEO.[14]

2009: Japan announced plans to orbit solar power satellites that will transmit energy back to earth via
microwaves. They hope to have the first prototype orbiting by 2030.[15]

2010: Europe's largest space company EADS Astrium plans to put a solar-collecting demo satellite in
space.[16][17][18]

2010: Prof. Andrea Massa and Prof. Giorgio Franceschetti will organize a Special Session on the "Analysis
of Electromagnetic Wireless Systems for Solar Power Transmission" at the 2010 IEEE International
Symposium on Antennas and Propagation.
History

The SBSP concept, originally known as Satellite Solar Power System ("SSPS") was first described in
November 1968 [20]. In 1973 Peter Glaser was granted U.S. patent number 3,781,647 for his method of
transmitting power over long distances (e.g., from an SPS to the Earth's surface) using microwaves from
a very large (up to one square kilometer) antenna on the satellite to a much larger one on the ground,
now known as a rectenna.[3]

Glaser then worked at Arthur D. Little, Inc., as a vice-president. NASA signed a contract with ADL to lead
four other companies in a broader study in 1974. They found that, while the concept had several major
problems—chiefly the expense of putting the required materials in orbit and the lack of experience on
projects of this scale in space, it showed enough promise to merit further investigation and research
[21].

Between 1978 and 1981 the US Congress authorized DOE and NASA to jointly investigate the concept.
They organized the Satellite Power System Concept Development and Evaluation Program [22][23]. The
study remains the most extensive performed to date. Several reports were published investigating the
engineering feasibility of such an engineering project. They include:

Resource Requirements (Critical Materials, Energy, and Land)[24]

Financial/Management Scenarios[25][26]

Public Acceptance[27]

State and Local Regulations as Applied to Satellite Power System Microwave Receiving Antenna
Facilities[28]

Student Participation[29]

Potential of Laser for SBSP Power Transmission[30]

International Agreements[31][32]

Centralization/Decentralization[33]

Mapping of Exclusion Areas For Rectenna Sites[34]

Economic and Demographic Issues Related to Deployment[35]

Some Questions and Answers[36]

Meteorological Effects on Laser Beam Propagation and Direct Solar Pumped Lasers[37]

Public Outreach Experiment[38]

Power Transmission and Reception Technical Summary and Assessment [39]

Space Transportation[40]

The project was not continued with the change in Administrations after the 1980 US Federal elections.

The Office of Technology Assessment[41] concluded

Too little is currently known about the technical, economic, and environmental aspects of SPS to make a
sound decision whether to proceed with its development and deployment. In addition, without further
research an SPS demonstration or systems-engineering verification program would be a high-risk
venture.

More recently, the SBSP concept has again become interesting, due to increased energy demand,
increased energy costs, and emission implications, starting in 1997 with the NASA "Fresh Look"[42]. In
assessing "What has changed" since the DOE study, this study asserts that

Another important change has occurred at the US national policy level. US National Space Policy now
calls for NASA to make significant investments in technology (not a particular vehicle) to drive the costs
of ETO [Earth to Orbit] transportation down dramatically. This is, of course, an absolute requirement of
space solar power.

One might take the NASA "Fresh Look" study as encouraging because the main difficulty identified is
driving down Earth to Orbit costs. However, Dr. Pete Worden claimed that space-based solar is about
five orders of magnitude more expensive than solar power from the Arizona desert. A major factor in
this five orders of magnitude is the cost of transporting materials to orbit. Dr. Worden referred to
possible solutions as speculative solutions that would not be available for decades at the best, leaving
space-based solar power with no business case for the foreseeable future.[43]

[edit]

SERT
In 1999 NASA's Space Solar Power Exploratory Research and Technology program (SERT) was initiated
for the following purpose:

Perform design studies of selected flight demonstration concepts;

Evaluate studies of the general feasibility, design, and requirements.

Create conceptual designs of subsystems that make use of advanced SSP technologies to benefit future
space or terrestrial applications.

Formulate a preliminary plan of action for the U.S. (working with international partners) to undertake an
aggressive technology initiative.

Construct technology development and demonstration roadmaps for critical Space Solar Power (SSP)
elements.

It was to develop a solar power satellite (SPS) concept for a future gigawatt space power systems to
provide electrical power by converting the Sun’s energy and beaming it to the Earth's surface. It was also
to provide a developmental path to solutions for current space power architectures. Subject to further
study, it proposed an inflatable photovoltaic gossamer structure with concentrator lenses or solar heat
engines to convert sunlight into electricity. The program looked at both systems in sun-synchronous
orbit and geosynchronous orbit.

Some of SERT's conclusions include the following:

The increasing global energy demand is likely to continue for many decades resulting in new power
plants of all sizes being built.

The environmental impact of those plants and their impact on world energy supplies and geopolitical
relationships can be problematic.

Renewable energy is a compelling approach, both philosophically and in engineering terms.

Many renewable energy sources are limited in their ability to affordably provide the base load power
required for global industrial development and prosperity, because of inherent land and water
requirements.

Based on their Concept Definition Study, space solar power concepts may be ready to reenter the
discussion.
Solar power satellites should no longer be envisioned as requiring unimaginably large initial investments
in fixed infrastructure before the emplacement of productive power plants can begin.

Space solar power systems appear to possess many significant environmental advantages when
compared to alternative approaches.

The economic viability of space solar power systems depends on many factors and the successful
development of various new technologies (not least of which is the availability of much lower cost
access to space than has been available), however, the same can be said of many other advanced power
technologies options.

Space solar power may well emerge as a serious candidate among the options for meeting the energy
demands of the 21st century.[44]

[edit]

Advantages

The SBSP concept is attractive because space has several major advantages over the Earth's surface for
the collection of solar power. There is no air in space, so the collecting surfaces would receive much
more intense sunlight, unaffected by weather. In geostationary orbit, an SPS would be illuminated over
99% of the time; such an SPS would be in Earth's shadow on only a few days at the spring and fall
equinoxes; and even then for a maximum of 75 minutes late at night[45] when power demands are at
their lowest. This characteristic of SBSP avoids the expense of storage facilities (dams, oil storage tanks,
coal dumps) necessary in many Earth-based power generation systems. Additionally, SBSP would have
fewer or none of the ecological (or political) consequences of fossil fuel systems.

SBSP would also be applicable on a global scale. Nuclear power raises questions of proliferation and
waste disposal, which pose problems everywhere, but especially in undeveloped areas which are less
capable of coping with them. SBSP poses no such known potential threat.

This technology can be of value to relief efforts in disaster areas. SBSP could step in at short notice to
provide as much power as is necessary both for the relief effort and to provide continuity of energy until
ground based transfer methods are restored.[citation needed]

There is a significant military advantage to SBSP in that it would provide the option to have almost
instantaneous sustained power nearly anywhere on the globe. It has been estimated that the average
price of fuel for the US Army exceeds $5 per gallon. During Operation Iraqi Freedom, there is an
estimate[46] that fuel costs in some areas approached $20 per gallon. This is undoubtedly due to the
cost of physically moving large quantities of fuel, and the massive security costs in protecting these
convoys in a war zone. The estimated costs given above do not include the high cost in the lives of
American servicemen and women who are killed or injured during attacks on supply convoys. With a
mobile SBSP receiving station, the Army could quickly be provided with megawatts of clean, sustained
energy. If a conflict forced a rapid change in the geographic location of Army personnel, the power from
SBSP could simply be redirected by altering the position of the SBSP satellites. If SBSP became an
established source of power, it could also provide a military benefit in that the supply would inherently
be much more secure than traditional energy delivery methods, chances of an energy scarcity based
conflict could be much reduced.

[edit]

Design

Space-based solar power essentially consists of three parts:

a means of collecting solar power in space, for example via solar cells or a heat engine

a means of transmitting power to earth, for example via microwave or laser

a means of receiving power on earth, for example via a microwave antenna (rectenna)

The space-based portion will be in a freefall, vacuum environment and will not need to support itself
against gravity other than relatively weak tidal stresses. It needs no protection from terrestrial wind or
weather, but will have to cope with space-based hazards such as micrometeors and solar storms.

[edit]

Solar energy conversion (solar photons to DC current)

Two basic methods of converting sunlight to electricity have been studied: photovoltaic (PV) conversion,
and solar dynamic (SD) conversion.

Most analyses of solar power satellites have focused on photovoltaic conversion (commonly known as
“solar cells”). Photovoltaic conversion uses semiconductor cells (e.g., silicon or gallium arsenide) to
directly convert photons into electrical power via a quantum mechanical mechanism. Photovoltaic cells
are not perfect in practice, as material purity and processing issues during production affect
performance; each has been progressively improved for some decades. Some new, thin-film approaches
are less efficient (about 20% vs 41% for best in class in each case as of late 2009), but are much less
expensive and generally lighter.

In an SPS implementation, photovoltaic cells will likely be rather different from the glass-pane protected
solar cell panels familiar to many in current terrestrial use, since they will be optimized for weight, and
will be designed to be tolerant of the space radiation environment (some thin film silicon solar panels
are highly insensitive to ionising radiation), but will not need to be encapsulated against corrosion from
environmental exposure or biological deterioration. They do not require the structural support required
for terrestrial use, where the considerable gravity and wind loading imposes structural requirements on
terrestrial implementations.

[edit]

Wireless power transmission to the Earth

Wireless power transmission was proposed early on as a means to transfer energy from collection to the
Earth's surface. The power could be transmitted as either microwave or laser radiation at a variety of
frequencies depending on system design. Whichever choice is made, the transmitting radiation would
have to be non-ionizing to avoid potential disturbances either ecologically or biologically. This
established an upper limit for the frequency used, as energy per photon (and consequently the ability to
cause ionization) increases with frequency. Ionization of biological materials doesn't begin until
ultraviolet or higher frequencies, so most radio frequencies would be feasible.

[edit]

Microwave power transmission

William C. Brown demonstrated in 1964, during Walter Cronkite's CBS News program, a microwave-
powered model helicopter that received all the power it needed for flight from a microwave beam.
Between 1969 and 1975, Bill Brown was technical director of a JPL Raytheon program that beamed 30
kW of power over a distance of 1 mile at 84% efficiency.[47]

Microwave power transmission of tens of kilowatts has been well proven by existing tests at Goldstone
in California (1975) [47][48][49] and Grand Bassin on Reunion Island (1997).[50]
More recently, microwave power transmission has been demonstrated, in conjunction with solar energy
capture, between a mountain top in Maui and the main island of Hawaii (92 miles away), by a team
under John C. Mankins.[51][52] Technological challenges in terms of array layout, single radiation
element design, and overall efficiency, as well as the associated theoretical limits are presently a subject
of research, as it is demonstrated by the upcoming Special Session on "Analysis of Electromagnetic
Wireless Systems for Solar Power Transmission" to be held in the 2010 IEEE Symposium on Antennas
and Propagation.[53]

[edit]

Laser power beaming experiments

A large-scale demonstration of power beaming is a necessary step to the development of solar power
satellites. Laser power beaming was envisioned by some at NASA as a stepping stone to further
industrialization of space.

In the 1980s researchers at NASA worked on the potential use of lasers for space-to-space power
beaming, focusing primarily on the development of a solar-powered laser. In 1989 it was suggested that
power could also be usefully beamed by laser from Earth to space. In 1991 the SELENE project (SpacE
Laser ENErgy) was begun, which included the study of laser power beaming for supplying power to a
lunar base.

In 1988 the use of an Earth-based laser to power an electric thruster for space propulsion was proposed
by Grant Logan, with technical details worked out in 1989. He proposed using diamond solar cells
operating at six hundred degrees to convert ultraviolet laser light, a technology that has yet to be
demonstrated even in the laboratory. His ideas were adapted to be more practical.

The SELENE program was a two-year research effort, but the cost of taking the concept to operational
status was too high, and the official project was ended in 1993, before reaching a space-based
demonstration.[54]

[edit]

Spacecraft sizing

The size of a solar power satellite would be dominated by two factors: the size of the collecting
apparatus (e.g. panels and mirrors), and the size of the transmitting antenna. The distance from Earth to
geostationary orbit (22,300 miles, 35,700 km), the chosen wavelength of the microwaves, and certain
laws of physics (specifically the Rayleigh Criterion or diffraction limit) will all be factors.

It has been suggested that, for best efficiency, the satellite antenna should be circular and about 1
kilometer in diameter or larger; the ground antenna (rectenna) should be elliptical, 10 km wide, and a
length that makes the rectenna appear circular from GEO (Geostationary Orbit). (Typically, 14 km at
some North American latitudes.) Smaller antennas would result in increased losses to
diffraction/sidelobes. For the desired (23 mW/cm²) microwave intensity [55] these antennas could
transfer between 5 and 10 gigawatts of power.

According to some research, to collect and convert the target volume of power, the satellite would
require between 50 and 100 square kilometers of collector area (if readily available ~14% efficient
monocrystalline silicon solar cells were deployed). State of the art multi-junction solar cells with a
maximum efficiency of 43% [56] could reduce the necessary collector area by two thirds. In any case, an
SPS's structure will necessarily be large (perhaps kilometers across), making it larger than most man-
made structures on Earth, and building structures of such size in orbit has never been attempted.

[edit]

Location

[edit]

GEO

The main advantage of locating a space power station in geostationary orbit is that the antenna
geometry stays constant, and so keeping the antennas lined up is simpler. Another advantage is that
nearly continuous power transmission is immediately available as soon as the first space power station
is placed in orbit; other space-based power stations have much longer start-up times before they are
producing nearly continuous power.

[edit]

LEO/MEO instead of GEO

A collection of LEO (Low Earth Orbit) space power stations has been proposed as a precursor to GEO
(Geostationary Orbit) space-based solar power.[57] There would be both advantages (shorter energy
transmission path, lower cost) and disadvantages (frequent changes in antenna geometries, increased
debris collisions, more power stations needed to receive power continuously). It might be possible to
deploy LEO systems sooner than GEO because the antenna development would take less time, but it
may take longer to prepare and launch the number of required satellites.

[edit]

Moon

People such as David Criswell suggest that the moon is the optimum location for solar power stations,
and promote lunar solar power.[58][59]

The main advantages of locating the solar power collector on the moon is that most of its mass could be
constructed out of locally available lunar materials, using in-situ resource utilization, significantly
reducing the amount of mass and therefore the launch costs required compared to other space-based
solar power stations.

[edit]

Earth-based infrastructure

The Earth-based receiver antenna (or rectenna) is a critical part of the original SPS concept. It would
probably consist of many short dipole antennas, connected via diodes. Microwaves broadcast from the
SPS will be received in the dipoles with about 85% efficiency[60]. With a conventional microwave
antenna, the reception efficiency is still better, but the cost and complexity is also considerably greater,
almost certainly prohibitively so. Rectennas would be multiple kilometers across. Crops and farm
animals may be raised underneath a rectenna, as the thin wires used for support and for the dipoles will
only slightly reduce sunlight, or non arable land could be used, so such a rectenna would not be as
expensive in terms of land use as might be supposed.

[edit]

Dealing with launch costs

One problem for the SBSP concept is the cost of space launches and the amount of material that would
need to be launched.

Reusable launch systems are predicted to provide lower launch costs to low Earth orbit (LEO).[61]
Much of the material launched need not be delivered to its eventual orbit immediately, which raises the
possibility that high efficiency (but slower) engines could move SPS material from LEO to GEO at an
acceptable cost. Examples include ion thrusters or nuclear propulsion.

Power beaming from geostationary orbit by microwaves carries the difficulty that the required 'optical
aperture' sizes are very large. For example, the 1978 NASA SPS study required a 1-km diameter
transmitting antenna, and a 10 km diameter receiving rectenna, for a microwave beam at 2.45 GHz.
These sizes can be somewhat decreased by using shorter wavelengths, although they have increased
atmospheric absorption and even potential beam blockage by rain or water droplets. Because of the
thinned array curse, it is not possible to make a narrower beam by combining the beams of several
smaller satellites. The large size of the transmitting and receiving antennas means that the minimum
practical power level for an SPS will necessarily be high; small SPS systems will be possible, but
uneconomic.

To give an idea of the scale of the problem, assuming a solar panel mass of 20 kg per kilowatt (without
considering the mass of the supporting structure, antenna, or any significant mass reduction of any
focusing mirrors) a 4 GW power station would weigh about 80,000 metric tons, all of which would, in
current circumstances, be launched from the Earth. Very lightweight designs could likely achieve 1
kg/kW,[62], meaning 4,000 metric tons for the solar panels for the same 4 GW capacity station. This
would be the equivalent of between 40 and 150 heavy-lift launch vehicle (HLLV) launches to send the
material to low earth orbit, where it would likely be converted into subassembly solar arrays, which then
could use high-efficiency ion-engine style rockets to (slowly) reach GEO (Geostationary orbit). With an
estimated serial launch cost for shuttle-based HLLVs of $500 million to $800 million, and launch costs for
alternative HLLVs at $78 million, total launch costs would range between $11 billion (low cost HLLV, low
weight panels) and $320 billion ('expensive' HLLV, heavier panels).[citation needed] For comparison, the
direct cost of a new coal or nuclear power plant ranges from $1 billion to $1.5 billion dollars per GW (not
including the full cost to the environment from CO2 emissions or storage of spent nuclear fuel,
respectively); another example is the Apollo missions to the Moon cost a grand total of $24 billion
(1970's dollars), taking inflation into account, would cost $140 billion today, more expensive than the
construction of the International Space Station.

[edit]

Building from space

Gerard O'Neill, noting the problem of high launch costs in the early 1970s, proposed building the SPS's in
orbit with materials from the Moon.[63] Launch costs from the Moon are potentially much lower than
from Earth, due to the lower gravity. This 1970s proposal assumed the then-advertised future launch
costing of NASA's space shuttle. This approach would require substantial up front capital investment to
establish mass drivers on the Moon.

Nevertheless, on 30 April 1979, the Final Report ("Lunar Resources Utilization for Space Construction")
by General Dynamics' Convair Division, under NASA contract NAS9-15560, concluded that use of lunar
resources would be cheaper than Earth-based materials for a system of as few as thirty Solar Power
Satellites of 10GW capacity each.[64]

In 1980, when it became obvious NASA's launch cost estimates for the space shuttle were grossly
optimistic, O'Neill et al. published another route to manufacturing using lunar materials with much
lower startup costs.[65] This 1980s SPS concept relied less on human presence in space and more on
partially self-replicating systems on the lunar surface under remote control of workers stationed on
Earth. This proposal suffers from the current lack of such automated systems. The design and
construction of these automated systems and their use to produce a mass driver launching system on
the moon from lunar materials is expected to take more than twenty years.[43] The partially self
replicating systems would include locally produced power generation, perhaps solar cells or heat engine
produced electrical power.

Asteroid mining has also been seriously considered. A NASA design study[66] evaluated a 10,000 ton
mining vehicle (to be assembled in orbit) that would return a 500,000 ton asteroid fragment to
geostationary orbit. Only about 3,000 tons of the mining ship would be traditional aerospace-grade
payload. The rest would be reaction mass for the mass-driver engine, which could be arranged to be the
spent rocket stages used to launch the payload. Assuming that 100% of the returned asteroid was
useful, and that the asteroid miner itself couldn't be reused, that represents nearly a 95% reduction in
launch costs. However, the true merits of such a method would depend on a thorough mineral survey of
the candidate asteroids; thus far, we have only estimates of their composition.

Having a relatively cheap per pound source of raw materials from space would lessen the concern for
low mass designs and result in a different sort of SPS being built. The low cost per pound of lunar
materials in O'neill's vision would be supported by using lunar material to manufacture more facilities in
orbit than just solar power satellites.

[edit]

Non-conventional launch methods

Main article: Non-rocket spacelaunch

SBSP costs might be reduced if a means of putting the materials into orbit were developed that did not
rely on rockets. Some possible technologies include ground launch systems such as mass drivers or
Lofstrom loops, which would launch using electrical power, or the geosynchronous orbit space elevator.
However, these require technology that is yet to be developed. John Hunter of Quicklaunch is working
on commercialising the 'Hydrogen Gun', a new form of mass driver which proposes to deliver unmanned
payloads to orbit for around 5% of regular launch costs (or $500 per pound; US$1,000 per kilogram) and
perform 5 launches per day.[67]

Advanced techniques for launching from the moon may reduce the cost of building a solar power
satellite from lunar materials. Some proposed techniques include the lunar mass driver and the lunar
space elevator, first described by Jerome Pearson.[68] It would require establishing silicon mining and
solar cell manufacturing facilities on the Moon.[citation needed]

[edit]

Counter arguments

[edit]

Safety

The use of microwave transmission of power has been the most controversial issue in considering any
SPS design.

At the Earth's surface, a suggested microwave beam would have a maximum intensity at its center, of 23
mW/cm2 (less than 1/4 the solar irradiation constant), and an intensity of less than 1 mW/cm2 outside
of the rectenna fenceline (the receiver's perimeter).[55] These compare with current United States
Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) workplace exposure limits for microwaves, which are 10
mW/cm2,[69] - the limit itself being expressed in voluntary terms and ruled unenforceable for Federal
OSHA enforcement purposes.[citation needed] A beam of this intensity is therefore at its center, of a
similar magnitude to current safe workplace levels, even for long term or indefinite exposure. Outside
the receiver, it is far less than the OSHA long-term levels[70] Over 95% of the beam energy will fall on
the rectenna. The remaining microwave energy will be absorbed and dispersed well within standards
currently imposed upon microwave emissions around the world.[71] It is important for system efficiency
that as much of the microwave radiation as possible be focused on the rectenna. Outside of the
rectenna, microwave intensities rapidly decrease, so nearby towns or other human activity should be
completely unaffected.[72]
Exposure to the beam is able to be minimized in other ways. On the ground, physical access is
controllable (e.g., via fencing), and typical aircraft flying through the beam provide passengers with a
protective metal shell (i.e., a Faraday Cage), which will intercept the microwaves. Other aircraft
(balloons, ultralight, etc.) can avoid exposure by observing airflight control spaces, as is currently done
for military and other controlled airspace.

The microwave beam intensity at ground level in the center of the beam would be designed and
physically built into the system; simply, the transmitter would be too far away and too small to be able
to increase the intensity to unsafe levels, even in principle.

In addition, a design constraint is that the microwave beam must not be so intense as to injure wildlife,
particularly birds. Experiments with deliberate microwave irradiation at reasonable levels have failed to
show negative effects even over multiple generations.[73]

Some have suggested locating rectennas offshore [74][75], but this presents serious problems, including
corrosion, mechanical stresses, and biological contamination.

A commonly proposed approach to ensuring fail-safe beam targeting is to use a retrodirective phased
array antenna/rectenna. A "pilot" microwave beam emitted from the center of the rectenna on the
ground establishes a phase front at the transmitting antenna. There, circuits in each of the antenna's
subarrays compare the pilot beam's phase front with an internal clock phase to control the phase of the
outgoing signal. This forces the transmitted beam to be centered precisely on the rectenna and to have
a high degree of phase uniformity; if the pilot beam is lost for any reason (if the transmitting antenna is
turned away from the rectenna, for example) the phase control value fails and the microwave power
beam is automatically defocused.[72] Such a system would be physically incapable of focusing its power
beam anywhere that did not have a pilot beam transmitter.

The long-term effects of beaming power through the ionosphere in the form of microwaves has yet to
be studied, but nothing has been suggested which might lead to any significant effect.

[edit]

Atmospheric damage due to launches

When hot rocket exhaust reacts with atmospheric nitrogen, it can form nitrogen compounds.[citation
needed] In particular these nitrogen compounds are problematic when they form in the stratosphere, as
they can damage the ozone layer. However, the environmental effect of rocket launches is negligible
compared to higher volume polluters, such as airplanes and automobiles.

[edit]

In fiction

Space stations transmitting solar power have appeared in science-fiction works like Isaac Asimov's
Reason (1941), that centers around the troubles caused by the robots operating the station. Asimov's
short story "The Last Question" also features the use of SBSP to provide limitless energy for use on
Earth.

In the novel "Skyfall" (1976) by Harry Harrison an attempt to launch the core of powersat from Cape
Canaveral ends in disaster when the launch vehicle fails trapping the payload in a decaying orbit.

Solar Power Satellites have also been seen in the work of author Ben Bova's novels "Powersat" and
"Colony".

In Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri, an endgame 'building' that fulfills the same function as an SPS is the
'Orbital Power Transmitter' which provides every city that you own with a unit of energy per satellite
launched, providing the city has an Aerospace Command building or your faction controls the space
elevator. Building multiple Orbital Power Transmitters provides massive bonuses to energy generation
and soon pay for themselves many times over.

In a 1981 storyline from the Iron Man comic book (issues #142-144), a rogue microwave transmission
from a secret Solar Power Satellite is responsible for numerous deaths in Allentown, Iowa.

In the computer games SimCity 2000 and 3000, plants that implemented solar satellite technology called
microwave powerplants were available in the future. One disaster scenario involved the beam missing
the receiver and hitting the city's infrastructure. The plant was discontinued in SimCity 4 but several fan-
made microwave powerplants were available on various SimCity 4 fan sites.

In the film Die Another Day, a satellite weapon is disguised as a solar power satellite.

In Mobile Suit Gundam 00, a solar power satellite array is constructed around the Earth and is used to
harness solar energy for use. They play a critical plot role in the superpowers' power balance.

In After War Gundam X, a solar power station is built on the moon, and is used to supply energy via
microwave to various mobile suits, to energize their powerful "Satellite Cannons".

[edit]

See also

Attitude control
Future energy development

Orbital station-keeping in GEO

Photovoltaics

Planetary boundaries

Project Earth

Satellite

Solar power

Solar panels on spacecraft

Space Fountain

Friis transmission equation equation for beamed wireless power efficiency