tilted toward the known direction of the satellite to improve the beam-coupling efficiency. Off-shore site locations may also be practical. Multiple ground sites, on the order of 10 to 20, could be served by a single GEO relay. However because beam steering limitations constrain contact times between transmitter and relay there would probably be no need for time-shared power distribution among the sites unless there were sufficient Sun Towers available to illuminate the relay on a continuous basis. For the same reason, energy storage would be required at a site if primary power were desired. Markets and Commercial Power Utility Interface The relay satellites augment the basic Sun Tower concept to supply electrical energy markets on a global scale. With power transmission up to 100 MW, mega-towns, towns, and remote sites can be served for intermittent through baseload power demands. The specific interfaces with power utilities, including direct-to-grid distribution, can be implemented in evolutionary steps as the number of Sun Towers, relays, and ground receivers grow to global constellation size. Annual revenues earned during this buildup can be used to finance additional system elements and support maintenance operations. Initial utilization of the GEO-based ReflectArrays for ground-to-ground power relay applications may provide early commercial investment dollars needed to expand the concept to space-based solar collection. 3.6. SoIarDisc The “SoIarDisc" space solar power concept exploits a single revolutionary paradigm to reduce the development and life cycle cost of a large geostationary orbit, hi particular, the system concept involves an extensively axisymmetric, modular space segment which 'grows' in geostationary Earth orbit (GEO), and can provide an early 'on-line' capability at a reduced power level A single satellite/ground receiver 'pair' would be used for this early application; this pair can be sized according to the specific market, ranging from approximately 1 GW to 10 GW scale. Figure 3-10, schematically illustrates the SoIarDisc sytem concept and Figure 3-11 shows the SoIarDisc architectural context. SoIarDisc: Development & Manufacturing This concept, owing to its extensive modularity, will entail relatively small individual system components which can be developed at a moderate price, ground tested with no new facilities, and demonstrated in a flight environment with a sub-scale test. Manufacturing can be 'mass production' style from the first satellite system Ground Launch Infrastructure No concept-unique ground launch infrastructure is required, beyond that necessary to achieve extremely low launch costs (on the order of $100 per pound).
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