A non-exclusive satellite power system
- Paper ID
1980-IAF-A-10
- author
- company
Power Conversion Technology Inc.
- country
U.S.A.
- year
1980
- abstract
An alternative form of satellite solar power system uses low orbits, inclined to the equitorial plane. They remain continually in sunlight, but travel over all parts of earth's surface. Their low altitude and high inclination greatly reduce the required size of both the antennas in the sky and the rectennas at high latitudes on earth. This eases a critical problem of rectenna siting for Europe and in general provides a complementary power system to both the geostationary satellit and terrestrial based solar power systems. However, it raises problems and opportunities of international control and use: (1) What forms of ownership and levels of political and economic risk are acceptable? (2) What kinds of interfacing with and retirement of existing facilities would be effective? (3) What "sidepayments" are politically desirable along with a standard energy rate structure? Approaches to these issues are suggested along with new results on required rectenna areas and safety exclusion zones and on the effects of power beams on .the ionosphere.