Space Based Solar Power

Obama's National Space Council should review SBSP in short order, so that an announcement can be made by spring 2009. NASA, DOE, and DOD have already reviewed. The announcement is the mother duck behind which all others align. More tests? Sure. Do all the tests and demos you want. I suggest that we need to fire up a helluva lot more than a light bulb from space to demo SBSP's onions.

I can't speak 100% to the design. After all, I am not the engineer. John Mankins is the guy. However, keep in mind that this structure is 5 km across; and those flexible tethers are solid structure. That being said, there will have to be stationkeeping thrusters in order to keep the whole thing stable and pointing correctly. The intent is also to have it at GEO – graphically, it looks better lower. The structure is exactly as John wanted it, however. He's the genius.

Question about the satellite design: how is it that the transmitter would "hang" from the assembly in geo as if weighted? How do the mirror farms stay put by what appears to be flexible tethers? Does the rigid planar design go off the table with solar concentrators, or do you work up to that design later after this one, which looks to be in LEO, proves its concept? I understand the soothing blue smoke rings with heartbeat sound effects are more artistic license. Is same true with architecture?

The graphics in that show were actually based on this animation – several of the sequences are exactly the same camera moves. I was asked permission to use it; but I wasn't expecting them to rip it. :/

Discovery Channel aired a demo of wireless power transfer on 9/12/08. Congratulations to John Mankins and his team, who beamed a low MW signal about 90 miles from one Hawaiian island to another, confirming with end-to-end hardware SSP theory. Congress and the new president should lend an ear to Mankins RE: space & energy policy going forward. He thinks a pilot plant in geo orbit can happen in 10 years with funding commitment. The sun does not set in geo, where waits our clean energy pot of gold.

Brian, that's what some said about the Hadron Collider. Alas, the world is still here. At least one of the presidential candidates is supportive of science, and will listen to evidence and numbers before deciding things.

the u.s. will never do this…we always avoid the sensible things here…I bet some stupid group will probably take it to court and say something about how it could effect the whole space/time/continuum of the universe and destroy the whole galaxy…we have lost all intelligence hear…just take a look at our presidential candidates that should tell something….

The Aldrin reference was from a NY Daily News article "8 Questions for Astronaut Buzz Aldrin", published 8/15/08. Personal thought: fusion doesn't inspire international stasis, and it doesn't move species into space.

Buzz didn't mention it last time I heard from him. But having met Pickens' science advisor, I suspect that it will fall on deaf ears, as said advisor expects fusion to be operational shortly…

A little nugget: Buzz Aldrin is bringing T. Boone Pickens into the loop on space solar power. Aldrin has also been working on large reusable lifters to start the program.

Well you know that and I know that, but a lot of the general public will hear "microwaves" and be "OMG THEY'RE GONNA COOK ME!"

Now of course you are right: some people will oppose anything. We could transfer the power with magic pixie dust, and they would find a reason to shriek that we should all be deathly afraid of magic pixie dust.

I'm thinking of the guys between us and the Anti-Pixie Brigade. The guy who might be afraid of a "microwave beam," but isn't afraid of everything in general.

I don't think it really matters what we call it; those that are bent on negativity or fear will always find something wrong. The key is education – the only reason a microwave cooks anything is because it is specifically tuned to the resonant frequency of the OH bond. This will not be, so it won't do much of anything to organics.

Just a PR suggestion: could we start talking about SHORT RADIO WAVES instead of MICROWAVES? It's easier to convince people we aren't going to cook them like a bag of Orville Redenbacher if we don't keep saying "microwave beam."

A flash light beams EM in a content stream, not pulses – the pulses gives the viewer the wrong impression, making them think it is a series of smoke rings pulsed rather than beamed.

It's pretty simple. For one, the beam is easy to see, and relatively easy to implement. Two, the director wanted to have a beam that was reminiscent of a old-style sci-fi beam. Nothing was meant to be implied otherwise.

I'm sure that's just part of the animation to let the viewer know the approximate size of the irradiated area. The reciever proposed for most efficient operation would have a 1-10km diameter.

You are still not answering my question. I know about the laser issue. My question is about the VIDEO representation of EMW beams shaped like smoke rings rather then a continuous beam non-pulsed.

Problem is that lasers are in-efficient especially at higher frequencies. Lower freqs, such as the microwaves depicted in the video are up to 85-90% efficient. Further the technology for converting power to microwaves is already well known. We use all of it in satellite communications.

If all else fails you can cook alot of chickens with all those microwaves.

Should happen anyway, SpaceX should be able to turn a profit as soon as they have a successful launch. Their first two failed, but the second reached orbital altitude, but only 5.2 km/s, not bad for a second launch as new rocket system usually fail the first 4-10 times. They should be able to reduce launch cost by a factor of 5-10. SPS should be viable then.

Great job. Truly a vision of the future.

Right, I know, but beamed EMW are not shaped like smoke rings, are they? Thought it would be a continuous beam like a broader lazer, no? and a serious of torus-shaped pluses.

This is a well-done video. While SPS isn't going to solve our energy issue this second, if we spent half of what we currently spend on social programs in this country on funding research and encouraging private companies to build the infrastructure on Earth and in space to support space based solar power, we could easily see the first demonstration power satellite come online within five years, if not sooner.

Will it happen? I hope so, but I fear not.

The smoke rings represent the energy being beamed down as it would be invisible otherwise.

No nuclear waste or greenhouse gases, but doesn't it beam energy earth, I did't get the smoke ring looking pulses.