SPACE STATION It is obvious that the resources available from sounding rockets and conventional satellites are not sufficient for the SPS experiments. The next step will come with the space station, where 100 kW power will be available and long-term sophisticated experiments are feasible. The following are sketches of some of the concepts now under study in Japan. Study / The facility consists of a 160 kW power generating solar array, a phased array microwave antenna mounted on a gimballing mechanism, a power conversion and control system and an attitude and position keeping system. An unmanned receiving station will be placed in a neighboring orbit which has the same orbital altitude and inclination as the main facility but slightly shifts in the eastward or westward direction. The final goal of this experiment is an operational use of this power unit to supply electrical power to the work unit of the space station or an unmanned platform as shown in Fig. 3.
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