6.2.4. Hardware Cost The sensitivity of the space segment results to various hardware cost assumptions was assessed and plotted in Figure 6-14 . Five components were determined to be the most significant drivers of cost in the systems analyzed. These were: (1) FET transmitter devices, (2) DC power conversion devices, (3) PV solar collection/conversion systems, (4) High Temperature Super-Conductive (HTSC) Hoytether structure and (5) Transmitter planar array structure. The cost of these components were independently varied, on a percentage basis, from their nominal values used in the model, and the resulting variations in recurring cost for each of the three SSP concepts was computed. The results of these analyses indicate that the system costs in the case of SolarDisc were most sensitive to the assumed cost of the FET devices, followed by the other components in the order listed above. In the SunTower concepts, system costs were most sensitive, by a large margin, to the cost of the concentrator/PV array, followed by the costs for the FET devices, DC power converters, HTSC/Hoytether structure and lastly the planar array structure. Because of their large numbers, the sensitivity to cost variations of the DC power converters was nearly as important as the FET devices in the two Sun Tower cases. However, the double planar array used in the SolarDisc concept, gave added importance to the FET devices and consequently they ranked highest in importance for that case.. In all cases, the cost sensitivity to the structural elements, both tether and array, was far outweighed by the sensitivity to the other components.
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