1. The life-cycle cost range for the SPS overlaps the competitive cost range of alternative energy technologies. 2. All the technologies considered will have distinct health and safety impacts. 3. The low-level and delayed impacts of all technologies are difficult to quantify and assess. 4. Each technology has material requirements that could be critical because of environmental control requirements or limited production capability. These requirements do not appear to limit the SPS concept. 5. The total amount of land required for the complete fuel cycle is roughly the same for all technologies. However, the SPS and terrestrial centralized photovoltaics would require large contiguous land areas. 6. The SPS, fusion and other advanced technologies may be difficult to operate in the current regulatory environment. The SPS also could be burdened by international regulations that do not appear to limit the other technologies. H. CONCLUSIONS On the basis of the assessment findings, the ad hoc Coordinating Committee on Space concludes the following: 1. No single constraint has been identified which would preclude continuation of an SPS R&D program or justify abandoning the program for either technical, economic, environmental, or societal reasons. 2. Technology advances, performance improvements and projected cost reductions in, for example, solar cell arrays, large space structures, laser power transmission, microwave generators and rectifiers, and space transportation systems could increase the technical feasibility and economic viability of the SPS beyond the SPS Reference System which was used as the basis for the assessments. 3. The SPS does not depend critically on any specific technology. This increases confidence that the system could be technically possible. 4. The international interest in the SPS concept is demonstrated by studies being performed in Canada, England, France, Japan, the Soviet Union, and by the European Space Agency and the United Nations Committee on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. In addition, the scientific and technical community in Austria, Italy, West Germany, and India is contributing to the definition of SPS-related issues. These broadly based activities indicate that the SPS is of interest to developed and developing countries and could be a basis for increased international involvement in the development of the SPS. 5. The SPS concept has a potential not only for baseload power generation on a global scale but represents an evolutionary direction for expanding human activities in space. I. RECOMMENDATIONS Therefore, the Committee recommends the following: 1. The SPS program should be continued, with research efforts devoted to increasing the understanding of the issues which have already been identified as deserving further study.
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