SECTION 1 INTRODUCTION, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS 1.1 INTRODUCTION The concept of an orbiting electric power generating station that transmits power through space to earth leads to a potential source of comparatively pollution-free power. The basic elements of the concept are an extraterrestrial power source, e. g. , a nuclear reactor or a solar-powered device, and a transmission system to condition the power, transmit it to earth, and again condition it for distribution. This study concerned the use of microwave technology for the transmission system, an approach which has the potential for high efficiency, large power handling capability and controllability. The transmitting antenna would be in geosynchronous equatorial orbit on a fixed line of sight to the ground receiving and rectifying antenna (rectenna). Microwaves can traverse the atmosphere with low attenuation, and advances in microwave power technology have been considerable since the first demonstration of appreciable microwave power transfer by Brown(1). The combination of a solar photovoltaic power source in geosynchronous orbit with microwave trans- mission to earth was first proposed by Glaser(2). This Satellite Solar Power Station (SSPS) concept received increasing attention(3,4) and led to a feasibility study conducted by a team consisting of Arthur D. Little, Inc. , Grumman Aero- space Corp. , Raytheon Co. , and Textron, Inc. under NASA sponsorship(5)Results were sufficiently promising to warrant support of more detailed studies in the technologies involved. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Office of Applications, as part of a joint Lewis Research Center/Jet Propulsion Laboratory five- year program to demonstrate feasibility of power transmission from space, has included a Microwave Power Transmission System Study. The Lewis Research Center, under a competitive procurement, awarded a cost plus fixed fee contract to the Raytheon Company’s Advanced Development Laboratory to undertake the program tasks as follows:
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