Fig. 16. Construction facility While the Shuttle will provide valuable information, research programs on electrical propulsion should be expanded and new efforts undertaken for the definition of engines for a Solar Power Satellite launch vehicle, accompanied by heat transfer testing and other exploratory research. Construction Construction in space of the large structures required by the satellite is a task which is formidable in scale (Fig. 16). Concepts have been developed, however, which are believed to be capable of constructing a 5000-MW satellite within 6 months. Space construction requires protection of the work force, and some materials, from the hard vacuum, intense sunlight, and natural radiation fields. Space is, however, an environment that, in many ways, is ideal for the construction process. First, because of the absence of significant gravitational forces, the structural loads are minute. Structural members may therefore be much lighter than terrestrial structures of the same span and stiffness. Second, the absence of gravitational forces greatly facilitates the movement of material and equipment. Movement of material absorbs a large portion of the total work by personnel and machines involved in terrestrial construction. Third, the absence of an atmosphere, with its attendant wind loads, inclement weather, and unpredictable change, permits work to be planned and executed readily and without interruption. In order to minimize space transportation costs, the Solar Power Satellite program
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