THE SPACE TECHNOLOGY CONNECTION The launching of Sputnik on October 4, 1975, and the subsequent dramatic space pioneering efforts marked the entry into the Space Age which irrevocably changed the evolutionary direction of planet Earth’s civilization. The consciousness of the uniqueness of planet Earth and the tangible demonstration that the tools of the Space Age promise an unlimited extension of new knowledge of the solar system had a most profound influence on advances in technology. These advances not only made it possible to develop satellites for Earth’s observations and communications as well as for scientific purposes, but also significantly contributed to the development of electronics and computer technologies. The historic “one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind," taken in July, 1969, was a spectacular event which an estimated 500 million people throughout the world followed with rapt attention. This dramatic event has very practical long-range connotations. Just as the railroad in the 19th Century opened up frontiers for human settlement, so space transportation sets the stage for the movement of humanity beyond the Earth’s surface. The railroad was a technological solution to social problems — unsatisfactory social conditions that were caused by resource limitations were alleviated when the railroad facilitated the exchange of the agricultural products and natural resources of rural settlements for the manufactured goods of crowded cities. Similarly, space transportation can bring within reach of Earth’s civilization the solar system's immense resources — including the harnessing of solar energy on an unprecedented scale. The synergism between space technology and efforts to harness solar energy could be used to overcome terrestrial obstacles to the conversion of solar energy such as inclement weather and the diurnal cycle. If satellites can be used for communications and for Earth observations, then it is also logical to consider placing satellites that could convert solar energy in an orbit, e.g., geosynchronous orbit (GEO), where they could generate power for Earth continuously during most of the year. With a year-round conversion capability such satellites could be used to overcome not only the major obstacles to solar base-load power generation on Earth (i.e., its requirements for energy storage and its inefficient use of capital-intensive solar energy conversion devices), but to develop the technology for solar energy conversion in Space on a scale which may not be possible on Earth, by taking advantage of the zero gravity of Space and the absence of other terrestrial constraints on the erection of a lightweight, extensive contiguous structure. The way to harness solar energy effectively would be to move the solar energy conversion devices off the surface of the Earth and place them in orbit where they would be continuously exposed to the Sun and away from the Earth’s active environment. Obviously, the most favorable orbit for solar energy conversion would be around the Sun, but at this stage of space technology development GEO is a reasonable compromise because solar radiation in GEO — unlike solar radiation received on Earth — is available around the clock during most of the year. Solar radiation intercepted by a satellite in GEO will be interrupted by the Earth’s eclipses of the Sun from 22 days before to 22 days after equinoxes for a maximum period of 72 minutes a day when the Earth, as seen from a GEO position, is near local midnight. Overall, eclipses will reduce the solar energy received in an orbital position in GEO by only about 1% of the total available during a whole year. A solar energy conversion system in GEO will collect at least four times the solar energy that would be available to it on Earth, even in favorable geographical locations, because it would not be subject to interruptions by weather, atmospheric absorption, and the diurnal cycle.
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