0191 -9067/81/010163-06$02.00/0 1981 SUNSAT Energy Council SATELLITE POWER SYSTEM CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION PROGRAM FREDERICK A. KOOMANOFF Satellite Power System Project Office United States Department of Energy Washington, DC 20545, USA Abstract — The satellite power system (SPS) program is a joint effort of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). It is managed by the SPS Project Office within DOE’s Office of Energy Research. The SPS Project Office was established in 1978 and is responsible for planning, management, and integration of SPS research in four areas: systems definition, environmental assessment, societal assessment, and comparative assessment. In fulfilling its responsibilities, the SPS Project Office directs research and assessment efforts to determine the feasibility of the SPS concept, funds organizations supporting the program, and disseminates information developed from project research and assessments. The objective of the SPS program is to develop an initial understanding of the technical feasibility, the economic practicality, and the social and environmental acceptability of the SPS concept. This is being accomplished through implementation of the Concept Development and Evaluation Program plan which is scheduled for completion by the end of the fiscal year 1980. INTRODUCTION The Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) are conducting a broad assessment of SPS under the Concept Development and Evaluation Program (CDEP) which started in 1977 and which will be completed in 1980. The assessment includes technical and economic feasibility; the effects of the microwave power transmission beam on biological, ecological, and electromagnetic systems; the impact of SPS construction, deployment, and operations on the biosphere and on society; and the merits of SPS compared to other future energy alternatives. NASA is conducting systems definitions studies of the SPS while DOE is evaluating health, safety, and ecological impacts; examining economic, international, institutional issues; and developing comparative assessments of SPS relative to alternative power sources for the future. An SPS “reference system” developed by NASA serves as an interim working concept to provide the technical and operational information needed to conduct environmental, socioeconomic, and comparative assessment studies. NASA’s current systems definition work provides a more complete understanding of the satellite power system, while present assessment studies will provide information to influence future system designs. Presented at the Conference by Frank J. Goldner, United States Department of Energy Representative, Bonn, Federal Republic of Germany.
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