This project/course is currently under revision.
Space Solar Power (SSP) is also known as
Space-Based Solar Power (SBSP) and sometimes shortened to just Space Solar. It always involves some form of Solar Power Satellite (SPS) sometimes called a 'powersat'. The general principle is collecting solar energy in space and delivering it to earth. There are early mentions hinting at SSP from science fiction but the first significant design work was done by Peter Glaser in the last 1960s and includes a US patent. A large study was sponsored by NASA in the last 1970s, and there were additional studies in the 1990s and early 2000s. A great deal of publications on SSP exist and there is a very wide diversity of configurations, which are called 'architectures'. Two broad areas for design are: (1) what orbit is used; and (2) how the power is transferred. Low Earth Orbits pass overhead quickly and are in earth's shadow half the time so powersats in this orbit sometimes come in 'trains'. Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) is popular because powersats orbit the globe at the same angular rate as it spins, so an earth-bound observer perceives the powersat to be fixed in the sky - this is a big plus for many communications satellites. Some architects have proposed gathering sunlight on the Moon, where the power beaming back to earth is a very long distance (10 times that of GEO) and has many logistical complexities. The most common configuration is GEO using phased array antennas to send a beam of microwaves (we often say say 'low-density radio waves' to avoid panic from lay persons - it is technically correct) to a receiving antenna (portmanteau = 'rectenna', plural 'rectennae') on earth. Space-to-space power beaming is also envisioned, and these schemes sometimes propose lasers, which are converted to useful electricity with solar panels. This archive is intended to capture a broad range of architectures and technologies and studies of Space Solar for educational purposes, and in the hopes it will inspire innovation by students whose ideas will help to realize the great promise of SSP: clean, renewable, baseload power for all mankind.
