and space program objectives. The SPS reference system uses only known technology. New technologies which, based on past experience, are very likely to be developed in the future will further enhance the overall SPS feasibility. For example, in the 1930’s, jet propulsion or rocket propulsion were not considered serious competition to the airplane’s internal-combustion engine and propeller. Twenty years later, the commercial jet airplane was shrinking global travel time and distance and the era of space exploration was about to change the course of human history. After many extensive assessments (14), no reason yet has come to light for concluding that the SPS would not be technically feasible; the cost projections fall into a competitive range when the SPS is compared with power-generation systems using renewable or nonrenewable energy resources; the environmental issues dealing with long-term exposure to low-level microwaves, land use associated with receiving antennas, and the effects of rocket-exhaust products on the Earth’s atmosphere are not likely to constrain the development of the SPS; the SPS has the potential to be environmentally benign compared to other large-scale continuous power-generation methods, considering its climatic effects, waste heat, pollutant release and energy requirements during construction; and the involvement of the public will be essential to alleviate concerns with environmental effects. In view of the growing interest in the SPS in the scientific community and in the United States Congress, the National Academy of Sciences and the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment are also assessing the SPS. Results of these assessments are expected in 1981 and will influence the evaluations and experiments to be carried out as part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s SPS Program during the next several years. International Implications The most significant aspect of the SPS concept is the global implications of continuous power generation available to all nations. Once the overall feasibility of the SPS concept has been established, and the planned evaluations and ground experiments are concluded with positive results, a broad-based international effort could be mounted during the development and demonstration phases of the SPS program, including space experiments to be conducted on future space missions. Already there is significant international awareness of the SPS concept, as indicated by studies of the United Nations Committee for the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, discussions of frequency assignment, and geosynchronous orbit positions at the World Administration Radio Conference, Geneva, August, 1979, and presentations at the United Nations Conference on Science and Technology for Development, Vienna, August 1979 (15). The increasing international interest in the SPS could lead to cooperative efforts among the nations which expect to benefit from the power that would be available to them. International participation in an SPS program would also provide assurance of the peaceful nature of the SPS, the adherence to agreed-upon environmental standards and the availability of power from Space on a global scale. Furthermore, international involvement in the SPS program should assure that the SPS will not be controlled by any one industrial organization, sector of industry, or even one nation. To derive the maximum benefits from a global SPS system, policies will have to be adopted which will be acceptable to other nations and lead to the formation of the most appropriate international organization for SPS development and implementation, one serving the needs of all the participating nations. The organizational struc-
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