US Department of Energy in cooperation with NASA and other US Government agencies. But now, the international implications of the development and deployment of the SPS are being studied in several European countries and by international organizations such as the European Space Agency and the United Nations Committee on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. As a result, one of the technical approaches for the SPS concept as embodied in the SPS Reference System has been evolved by NASA to provide a basis for studies of the technical, economic, environmental, and societal issues by academic, industrial, and governmental organizations. By 1979, these studies had indicated that the SPS concept appears to be technically feasible and thus warrants further evolutionary development. Sufficient information was being developed so that several of the issues facing this evolution could be clarified and form a basis for policy decisions on future commitments to an SPS program. In view of the progress being made in SPS-related studies, an exchange of information at an international symposium devoted to the exploration of the issues surrounding the development of the SPS concept was considered timely. International participation is justified on the basis of the projected global application of the SPS concept as a source of continuous power available to all countries. The SPS will require the cooperation of the international community in an SPS program to assure adherence to agreed-upon environmental standards, to obtain allocation of appropriate frequencies and positions in geosynchronous orbit, and to evolve a legal framework consistent with its peaceful and global benefits. International participation in the development of the SPS would enhance the potential benefits, contribute to the improvement of international relations, and present an option in the context of global energy-related political, legal, environmental, and societal concerns. The organization of the symposium was undertaken by an international scientific committee presided over by Dr. M. Pelegrin and included Mr. M. Claverie, Deputy Director Solar Energy Programs, P1RDES, France; Mr. I. Franklin, Senior Project Manager, British Aerospace Dynamics Group; Dr. P. E. Glaser, President, SUNSAT Energy Council, USA; Dr. J. Grey, Director of Public Policy, Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, USA; Dr. R. Tilgner, Executive Secretary, Long Term Planning Group, European Space Agency, France; and Dr. R. Mayur, Member, Futurology Commission, Government of India. This committee undertook the task of preparing the program, inviting participants and attending to the many details. It was aided by a local organizing committee which, in addition to Dr. Pelegrin, consisted of Mr. J. Coulom, Administrative and Financial Counsel of the Office Nationale d’Etudies et de Recherches Aerospatiales and the staff of CERT. The symposium was sponsored by Mr. Andre Giraud, Minister of Industry, France, with the cooperation of the SUNSAT Energy Council, Commissariat a L’Energy Solaire, Direction de Recherches, Etudes et Techniques and Centre National Etudes Spatiales. The success of the international symposium can be judged by the contributions published in this volume, which indicate the broad-ranging interests of the authors. The 120 symposium attendees, representing both developed and developing countries, verified the need for international participation and demonstrated the level of international interest in the SPS concept and its future potential. The attendees expectations are that an international organization could best manage the development and subsequent commercialization of the SPS in a manner that would be responsive to the energy needs of individual countries and be politically feasible, cost-effective, conducive to international cooperation, and acceptable to
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