Fig. 12. Transportation to low Earth orbit Fig. 13. Transportation between low Earth orbit and geosynchronous orbit arsenide cells in laboratory tests indicate a “self-healing” characteristic when operated at temperatures which might be generated using concentrators. Conventional chemical rockets using hydrogen-oxygen propellants may also be employed to transfer launch vehicle cargo to geostationary orbit, permitting construction at that location. Because of the relatively poor efficiency of chemical rockets compared to that of the electric propulsion ion-drive system, much larger quantities of propellants must be delivered to low orbit, approximately doubling the number of launch vehicle flights necessary to place a Solar Power Satellite in operation. If Solar Power Satellite modules were fabricated at the low-orbit altitude, com-
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTU5NjU0Mg==