摘要:

In 1981 the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) published an assessment of the solar power satellite (SPS) concept. SPS proponents claimed that the development and deployment of SPS systems could revolutionize electrical production and sharply reduce global dependence on fossil and atomic fuels. Opponents argued that SPS would be too expensive and environmentally damaging. The OTA assessment examined a broad variety of satellite technologies that might be employed in SPS and compared projected electrical production with terrestrial solar power, advanced coal technologies, breeder reactors, and nuclear fusion. It also explored public attitudes toward the SPS concept and compared its potential environmental impacts with those of other future electrical power sources. Technology, world politics, the U.S. economy, and the state of the U.S. space program have changed dramatically since the OTA report was published. This paper examines several of the economic, environmental, and international factors that must be taken into account when assessing the advisability of investing in future solar power satellite concepts. ©American Institute of Physics 1995

ISSN:0094-243X    

DOI:10.1063/1.47088

出版商:AIP    

年代:1995

数据来源: AIP

摘要:

Some restrictions on the use of power from space and possibilities for uninterrupted power supply are discussed for a variety of space‐based systems. Only solar power system with power transmission to Earth by microwave beams are considered. Primary attention is paid to restrictions on the realization of various system, rectenna allocation, and to conditions for utilization of power from space in the terrestrial energy systems of different world regions. ©American Institute of Physics 1995

ISSN:0094-243X    

DOI:10.1063/1.47089

出版商:AIP    

年代:1995

数据来源: AIP

摘要:

The proposed Lunar Solar‐Power (LSP) System collects solar power on the moon. The power is converted to beams of microwaves and transmitted to fields of microwave receivers (rectennas) on Earth that provide electric power to local and regional power grids. LSP can provide abundant and low cost energy to Earth to sustain several centuries of economic development on Earth and in space. The LSP power is independent of the biosphere (global warming, weather, and climate changes), independent of reserves of terrestrial non‐renewable and renewable power, and is low in total costs compared to other large scale power systems. Efficient utilization of the moon as a platform for solar collectors/power transmitters and as a source of building materials is key to the development and emplacement of the LSP System. LSP development costs can be significantly reduced by the establishment of a manned lunar base. ©American Institute of Physics 1995

ISSN:0094-243X    

DOI:10.1063/1.47090

出版商:AIP    

年代:1995

数据来源: AIP

摘要:

The form of energy supplied to the point of use influences the growth of productivity. Utility grade electric power has induced the most rapid growth in productivity in recent times. There is a physical foundation for this phenomenon. The control of energy use inherent in electric power brings with it greater opportunities for innovation than obtain with other forms of energy for the point of use. There are, almost certainly, other forms of electric power for the point of use that can further accelerate productivity growth. ©American Institute of Physics 1995

ISSN:0094-243X    

DOI:10.1063/1.47091

出版商:AIP    

年代:1995

数据来源: AIP

摘要:

Large scale power systems in space can be made affordable only by: (A) revolutionary reductions in transport cost to space or (B) if supported by large scale industrial activity based on local (lunar, asteroidal, planetary) materials (Waldron 1985; Waldron 1993). Of the potential sources, only the moon has been studied in sufficient detail at this time to warrant detailed engineering studies of mining, manufacturing, transport and deployment, field or space assembly, or the erection of space power assets, support infrastructure, and general operations. The practicality of lunar industrial activity will depend on optimizing the distribution or locally fabricated vs. imported production and support equipment, and automation Vs human control (direct or teleoperated). The anticipated high transport cost to the moon will mandate the minimization of direct labor requirements, but teleoperation can provide a predominant portion of non‐automated control requirments without excessive cost penalties. The constraints on the scope of local production items due to soil compositions are analyzed and comparative production cost factors discussed. ©American Institute of Physics 1995

ISSN:0094-243X    

DOI:10.1063/1.47233

出版商:AIP    

年代:1995

数据来源: AIP

摘要:

By the last half of the next century, Helium 3 (3He) may be obtained from the surface of the Earth’s moon to fuel terrestrial power reactors supplying a portion of the Earth’s electrical power. Gaseous and metallic co‐products of the production of3He will enable major industrial activities on the moon, producing manufactured products and commodities needed for self‐sufficiency of the lunar colonies. This paper summarizes a 1991 lunar mining scenario simulation, describing the establishment of mining/manufacturing communities on the moon with a work force of 2,800 persons and a large total population (Davis, 1991). The scientific results of projectClementinein early 1994 provided comprehensive, multispectral global mapping of the lunar surface, included finding a deep, permanently shadowed crater at the South Pole. The possibility that water may be present within this crater calls for an entirely new strategy of lunar colonization. New scenario simulations using this finding are advocated by this paper. These future simulations are expected to predict major cost and time savings compared to earlier lunar base simulations. ©American Institute of Physics 1995

ISSN:0094-243X    

DOI:10.1063/1.47093

出版商:AIP    

年代:1995

数据来源: AIP

摘要:

Recent Clementine bistatic radar data suggest that water ice may be present in a ‘‘forever shaded’’ depression or crater at the South Pole of the Moon. The ice is a feedstock for the electrolysis production of cryogenic oxygen and hydrogen rocket fuel for a transportation system on the moon and for leaving and descending on the moon. The ice also provides a convective heat sink critical to the practical implementation of high throughput electric power generators and refrigerators that liquefy and cool the oxyen and hydrogen into cryogenic rocket fuel. This brief analysis shows that about a hundred tonnes of hardware delivered to the lunar surface can produce tens of thousands of tonnes of rocket fuel per year, on the moon. And it makes the point that if convective cooling is used instead of radiative cooling, then power and processing systems can be used that exist and have been tested already. This shortens the time by an order of magnitude to develop lunar operations. Quick deployment of a chemical cryofuel energy source is a key factor in the economics of lunar development. ©American Institute of Physics 1995

ISSN:0094-243X    

DOI:10.1063/1.47094

出版商:AIP    

年代:1995

数据来源: AIP

摘要:

In the exploration and development of the Moon a fundamental step will be to understand the distribution of lunar resources and the processes by which they were emplaced. Project Pele is a proposed Discovery Program lunar lander mission, targeted to survey and characterize a complex volcanic region of the Moon. The primary objective of the Pele mission is to investigate the nature of the volcanic deposits in the vicinity of the lunar crater Aristarchus, to understand the sequence of volcanic flow and pyroclastic events that built up the Aristarchus Plateau, to examine the Schroter’s Valley Rille, and, if time allows, to study the nature of the ejecta from the Aristarchus crater.Beside the fundamental understanding of the volcanic processes, the mission would also allow, for the first time, thein situcharacterization of the resource potential of the region. In particular, thic deposits of pyroclastic glass are believed to exist on the Aristarchus Plateau, from which lunar oxygen, metals and trace voltailes may be easily recovered. Thus, the Pele mission will relate fundamental understanding of lunar volcanism with the distribution and use of lunar resources. Additionally, it will stimulate the development of new telerobotic technologies for planetary surface investigation and eventual resource utilization. ©American Institute of Physics 1995

ISSN:0094-243X    

DOI:10.1063/1.47095

出版商:AIP    

年代:1995

数据来源: AIP

摘要:

The Earth’s environment may be in danger from the buildup of carbon dioxide and geoengineering may be needed to counter the threat of global warming. Energy from space provides a benefit to the global environment through the replacement of fossil fuels with a clean, renewable energy source from space. This paper calls for the analysis of space power system concepts, a definition of technologies that need to be developed, and the demonstration of those technologies. Integration of technology needs into a program of space exploration provides a means of preparing to deal with global change while producing a useful product. Space exploration may also lead to better ways of constructing space power facilities through the use of lunar materials. ©American Institute of Physics 1995

ISSN:0094-243X    

DOI:10.1063/1.47096

出版商:AIP    

年代:1995

数据来源: AIP

摘要:

The advances in solar cell efficiency, radiation tolerance, and cost over the last decade are reviewed. Potential performance of thin‐film solar cells in space are discussed, and the cost and the historical trends in production capability of the photovoltaics industry considered with respect to the requirements of satellite solar power systems. ©American Institute of Physics 1995

ISSN:0094-243X    

DOI:10.1063/1.47238

出版商:AIP    

年代:1995

数据来源: AIP