Bibliographic Citation
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| Title | Backers of solar satellites see more power to use |
| Creator/Author | Beiser, M. |
| Publication Date | 1977 Oct 24 |
| OSTI Identifier | OSTI ID: 5430563 |
| Other Number(s) | Journal ID: CODEN: EUSND |
| Resource Type | Journal Article |
| Resource Relation | Journal Name: Energy User News; (United States); Journal Volume: 2:42 |
| Subject | 29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY AND ECONOMY; 14 SOLAR ENERGY; ORBITAL SOLAR POWER PLANTS; FEASIBILITY STUDIES; CONSTRUCTION; ECONOMICS; ENERGY SOURCE DEVELOPMENT; ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS; FINANCING; MICROWAVE RADIATION; PLANNING; POWER GENERATION; RESEARCH PROGRAMS; SOLAR CELLS; SOLAR COLLECTORS; SOLAR ENERGY CONVERSION; SOLAR POWER PLANTS; SPACE VEHICLES; TECHNOLOGY UTILIZATION; CONVERSION; DIRECT ENERGY CONVERTERS; ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION; ENERGY CONVERSION; PHOTOELECTRIC CELLS; PHOTOVOLTAIC CELLS; POWER PLANTS; RADIATIONS |
| Description/Abstract | Backers of Solar Power Satellites (SPS) believe that a commitment for substantial funding now could provide a prototype source of safe, reliable, and cost-competitive electricity by the mid-1990s. An SPS would use an array of solar collectors to absorb energy from the sun and microwave beams to transmit the energy to antennas on earth, where it would be converted into electricity and fed into a power grid. Although research by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration has demonstrated the technical feasibility, a three-year study is still underway to determine if satellites are economically and environmentally acceptable. A full-scale program is estimated to cost $90 billion for 60 satellites. Arthur D. Little Inc. Vice President Peter Glazer, who patented the concept in 1973, sees it as a superior energy source able to avoid the restrictions of land-based solar systems. Weighing about 100,000 tons, however, the satellites must be built in space, while receiving antennas would be distributed geographically in groups four or five square miles in area. The effect of a microwave beam on airplanes, birds, the ionosphere, and radio communications are concerns that have not been resolved. Funding is needed to develop better solar cell, satellites, and receiver technology, to improve the space shuttle program, and to construct the satellites and antennas. (DCK) |
| Country of Publication | United States |
| Language | English |
| Format | Medium: X; Size: Pages: 4 |
| System Entry Date | 2009 Dec 16 |
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