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Solar Power Satellites Chapter 5 ALTERNATIVE SYSTEMS FOR SPS Contents Page Microwave Transmission . 65 LIST OF FIGURES The Reference System.. 65 Figure No. Page Laser Transmission.. 78 9 Solar Power Satellite Reference Laser Generators . 79 System. 66 Laser Transmission . 81 10 Satellite Power System Efficiency Laser-Power Conversion at Earth . 82 Chain . 67 The Laser-Based System . 82 11 Major Reference System Program Elements. 68 Mirror Reflection . 86 12 The Retrodirective Concept . 69 The Mirror System. 88 13 Power Density at Rectenna as a Space Transportation and Construction Function of Distance From the Alternatives . 89 Beam Centerline . 70 Transportation . , . 89 14 Peak Power Density Levels as a Space Construction. 91 Function of Range From Rectenna . 70 15 SPS Space Transportation Scenario . 73 SPA Costs . 92 16 The Solid-State Variant of the Reference Reference System Costs . 92 System. 78 Alternative Systems . 96 17 lndirect Optically Pumped CO/CO2 The Solid-StateSystem . 96 Mixing Laser . 80 The Laser System . 96 18 The CATALAC Free Electron Laser The Mirror System. 97 Concepts. 81 19 Optics and Beam Characteristics of Two Types of Laser Power Trans- LIST OF TABLES mission System (LTPS) Concepts. 82 Table No. Page 20. The Laser Concept. , . 84 6. Projections for Laser Energy Converters 21 Components of the Laser Concept . 84 in 1981-90 . 83 22. The Mirror Concept (SOLARES) . 87 7. 500 MWe Space Laser Power System. 85 23. Reference System Costs . 92 8. Laser Power Station Specification. 85 24 How Cost Could Be Allowed. 93 9. SOLARES Baseline Systerm . 88 25 Elements and Costs, in 1977 Dollars, for 10. Research— $370 Million . 93 the Baseline SOLARES System . 97 11. Engineering– $8 Billion . 93 26 Sensitivity of the SOLARES Mirror 12. Demonstration– $23 Billion . 93 System to Variations in System 13. SPS lnvestment– $57.9 Billion . 94 Parameters . 98 Chapter 5 ALTERNATIVE SYSTEMS FOR SPS A variety of systems have been proposed for tutional, and public acceptance issues in the collecting, transmitting, and converting solar chapters that follow. power from space. Each system has its advan- tages and disadvantages, its benefits and draw- In order to estimate reliably and fully the backs. Each alternative system would use one range of costs and potential technical uncer- of three transmission modes — microwave, tainties for a given solar power satellite (SPS) laser, or optical reflector–to transmit power option, it would be necessary to subject it to to Earth where it is collected and converted to the same detailed analysis that the reference electricity or some other highly useful form of system has undergone during the last 5 years. energy. Each system would use numerous sub- Unfortunately, this analysis has not been ac- systems to collect and convert energy in space complished for the alternative systems. Hence, or on the ground. This chapter wiII character- detailed comparisons between systems will not ize the alternative systems and subsystems and be possible. At this stage it is possible only to discuss their potential for generating power compare the major features of each technol- from space. It will also describe four repre- ogy and note the uncertainties that should be sentative systems that serve as the technical addressed as conceptual development of the basis for discussion of the environmental, insti- various alternatives continues. MICROWAVE TRANSMISSION Because the atmosphere is highly transpar- and Space Administration (DOE/NASA) as a ent to microwaves, they constitute an obvious basis for study. It consists of a large planar candidate for the SPS transmission mode. In array of photovoltaic celIs located in the geo- addition, microwave technology also is well- synchronous orbit 35,800 km above the Earth’s known and is used today in a number of space Equator (fig. 9). The cells convert solar energy and terrestrial communications and radar ap- into direct-current (de) electricity that is plications. Microwave power transmission was conducted at high voltage to a phased-array first demonstrated experimentally in 1964, ’ microwave transmitting antenna mounted at and tested in 1974.2 3 one end of the photovoltaic array. Klystron amplifiers convert the dc electricity to high- The Reference System4 56 voltage radio-frequency power that is then radiated to Earth by slotted waveguides. A The reference system was selected by the receiving antenna (rectenna) on the ground Department of Energy/National Aeronautics reconverts the electromagnetic radiation into electric current and rectifies it into dc. After 1). F Degenford, M D. Sirkis, and PV H Steir, “Ttle Reflecting Beam Waveguide, ” I E EE Transactions 01 Microwave Theory being converted to high-voltage, low alter- Technology MIT-72, July 1964, pp 445-453 nating current (ac), the power can then be ‘Richard M Dickinson, “Evaluation of a Microwave High- either delivered directly to the conventional ac Power Reception-Conversion Array for Wireless Power Transmis- sion, ” Jet Propulsion Laboratory Technical Memorandum No grid or converted back to dc at high voltage 33-741, Sept 1, 1975 and delivered to a dc transmission network. ~R i chard M Dick InsOn, “Microwave Power Transmitting Phased Array Antenna Research Project Summary Report, ” Jet The amount of power delivered to the grid Propulsion Laboratory publication No 78-28, Dec 15, 1978 by each reference system rectenna has been ‘Department of Energy, “Satellite Power System Concept De- velopment and Evaluation Program Reference System Report, ” report No. DOE/E R-0023, October 1978 bR O Piiand, “SPS Cost Methodology and Sensitivities, ” The ‘C. C. Kraft, “The Solar Power Satellite Concept, ” NASA pub- F/na/ Proceedings of the Solar Power Satellite Program Review, lication No JSC-14898, July 1979 DOE/NASA Conf-800491, July 1980. 65 66 ● Solar Power Satellites Figure 9.—Solar Power Satellite Reference System Solar power satellite reference system Solar cell arr Transmitt ty SOURCE: C. C. Kraft, “The Solar Power Satellite Concept,” NASA publication No. JSC-14898, July 1979 set at 5 gigawatts (GW)—or 5,000 megawatts The system is designed to deliver baseload, (MW). The microwave transmission frequency i.e., continuous 24-hour power to the electric was chosen to be 2.45 gigahertz (GHz). Max- grid. However, some variations in delivered imum microwave power density at the center power would occur. A seasonal fluctuation in of the rectenna (on Earth) was set at 23 output due to the variation of the Sun’s dis- milliwatts per square centimeter (mW/cm2), tance from Earth would cause variations in and the maximum power density at the edge of both incident insolation and photovoltaic cell the rectenna was set at 1 mW/cm2 (one-tenth temperature, the latter producing a conse- the current U.S. recommended occupational quent change in efficiency. In addition, around limit). The reference design assumes that all the spring and fall equinoxes the Earth’s materials would be obtained from Earth, and shadow would occult the SPS, resulting in a that the system lifetime would be 30 years with short period each night for about 6 weeks at no residual salvage value. local midnight (about 75 minutes maximum, at the equinoxes) where no solar radiation im- The area of the satellite’s photovoltaic array pinges on the satellite and therefore no power would be approximately 55 square kilometers 2 could be delivered to the grid (see ch. 9 for a (km ); the diameter of the transmitting antenna discussion of this effect). 1 km. The total in-orbit mass of the complete system, including a 25-percent contingency factor, would be either 51,000 or 34,000 metric Subsystem Description tons (tonnes), depending on whether silicon or ENERGY COLLECTION AND CONVERSION gallium arsenide photovoltaic cells would be Two photovoltaic concepts were considered used. for the DOE/NASA reference system. One uses Ch. 5—Alternative Systems for SPS . 67 Figure 10.-Satellite Power System Efficiency Chain 57.81 GW 11.58 GW 10.50 GW 9.46 GW Ga Ga 63.18 GW 71.77 GW (Solar) 10.79 GW 10.29 GW 9.79 GW 70.81 GW Si Si 62.34 GW Ga 9.08 GW 8.50 GW 8.50 GW 8.18 GW 6.96 GW 6.72 GW Si 9.08 GW 6.58 GW 5.79 GW 5.15 GW overall efficiency = 6.970/. Ga MPTS efficiency = 63.00/. 7.06% Si Abbreviation: “Ga” indicates the gallium-alum aluminum-arsenide option, “Si” the silicon option. SOURCE: Department of Energy, “Satellite Power System Concept Development and Evaluation Program: Reference System Report,” DOE report No. DOE/ER-0023, October 1978. single crystal silicon converters that would cells: low mass per unit area, resistance to ther- receive sunlight directly; the other uses mal and radiation degradation, and higher effi- gallium-arsenide (GaAs) photovoltaic cells il- ciency. They have the disadvantages of rela- luminated directly and by mirrors in a 2:1 con- tively high cost, the limited production availa- centration ratio. bility of gallium, and a smaller technology base than for silicon cells. Because of these Silicon cells, currently used in all solar latter characteristics, these cells would be powered spacecraft, have the advantages of used in a 2:1 concentration ratio in the refer- an extensive manufacturing base, abundant re- ence system, trading the relatively expensive source materials, and lower cost per cell, as cells for less expensive Iightweight reflectors well as an R&D program in DOE aimed at ma- to concentrate sunlight on the cells. jor cost reduction for terrestrial cells. How- ever, silicon cells in space suffer degradation The structure that supports the solar cells from radiation effects and from high-operating would be an open-truss framework made of temperatures, and hence would probably re- graphite-fiber reinforced thermoplastic com- quire periodic annealing of the array surface posite (fig. 9). Because the solar array must be (possibly by laser or electron beam techniques) oriented toward the Sun and the transmitting or the development of silicon cells less af- antenna toward the Earth, a massive rotary fected by ionizing radiation.
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