...So Just How Close to Reality did Space Solar Power Come?....Ans: Very close!

I didn't know this before. But Congress had allocated some
$25 million to fund the SERT program for Space Solar Power.
Which was not just another study, but the first step in
actually launching an aggressive large scale SSP program.

Then the Nasa 2002 budget was released.
The first one from Bush.

And like a Stalinist Purge, Space Solar Power became
forbidden nomenklature. When the next administration
comes to power, left or right, we deserve to return
to the point where 'they' killed the Sert Program.




Executive Summary SERT Program

"NASA focused the SERT effort by utilizing the definition of a
"strawman" or baseline SSP system that would provide
10 to 100 GW to the ground electrical power grid with a
series of 1.2-GW satellites in geosynchronous Earth orbit (GEO)."


Space solar power
From Wikipedia

"In 1999 NASA's Space Solar Power Exploratory Research and
Technology program (SERT) was initiated for the following purpose:"


Perform design studies of selected flight demonstration concepts;

Evaluate studies of the general feasibility, design, and requirements.

Create conceptual designs of subsystems that make use of
advanced SSP technologies to benefit future space or terrestrial
applications.

Formulate a preliminary plan of action for the U.S. (working with
international partners) to undertake an aggressive technology initiative.

Construct technology development and demonstration roadmaps
for critical Space Solar Power (SSP) elements.


It was to develop a solar power satellite (SPS) concept for a future
gigawatt space power systems to provide electrical power by
converting the Sun's energy and beaming it to the Earth's surface.
It was also to provide a developmental path to solutions for
current space power architectures
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_solar_power




Executive Summary
NASA'S SPACE SOLAR POWER EXPLORATORY RESEARCH AND
TECHNOLOGY (SERT) PROGRAM
http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?isbn=0309075971

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Space Solar Power (SSP)
Exploratory Research and Technology (SERT) program1 was charged to develop
technologies needed to provide cost-competitive ground baseload electrical
power2 from space-based solar energy converters.


OVERVIEW OF NASA'S SPACE SOLAR POWER (SSP) EXPLORATORY
RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY (SERT) PROGRAM


The SERT program was established in FY 1999 and continued through FY 2000 by
U.S. congressional appropriation. An additional appropriation was also
funded for SSP Research and Technology (SSP R&T) for FY 2001. Decisions on
internal NASA budget allocations for FY 2002 were pending during review and
publication of this report.


NASA's SERT program mainly involves research on technologies and design
methods that is necessary for such a huge undertaking. The program has
identified several flight demonstration milestones in order to test
technologies
and concepts in the near-term and mid-term in preparation for transferring
the technologies to industry for final full-scale development and
implementation. A more specific treatment of these flight demonstrations and
key program milestones can be found in Section 2-1.

NASA has chosen to break its research into 12 areas for funding:

Systems integration, analysis, and management

Solar power generation

Wireless power transmission

Space power management and distribution

Structural concepts, materials, and controls

Thermal management and materials

Space assembly, inspection, and maintenance

Platform systems

Ground power systems (GPS)

Space transportation (Earth-to-orbit and in-space)

Environmental, health, and safety

Economic analysis

Each area (with the exception of economic analysis) has been allocated a
portion of the earmarked government funding provided to the SERT program for
technology roadmap development and prioritization and was charged with (1)
developing a set of cost and technology goals, (2) compiling a list of
important technology challenges, (3) developing potential applications of
technology advancements, (4) developing a breakdown of the specific work
necessary for advancement, and (5) developing a schedule of technology
milestones that parallel the milestones of the total program. An example of
these roadmaps and goals for the solar power generation portion of the
program can be found in Appendix C. The program has identified an investment
portfolio for a future SSP program with planned resource allocation through
2016 (see Table D-l). This allocation will be affected by choices made by
NASA and the President's Office of Management and Budget in space solar
power. Technology flight demonstrations (referred to by NASA as MSCs) are
scheduled in FY 2006-2007, FY 2011-2012, and FY 2016.

From 2002 to 2006 the funding request for SSP was respectively

$88million
$124million
$211million
$282million
$312million
.................................................. .



Jonathan


"Chairman Rohrabacher opened the hearing by stating that
space solar power (SSP) is "precisely what NASA as an
agency should be all about" - He stated that NASA's lack
of preparation to follow up on SSP, a concept that, he claimed,
"cries out for further research," may be because NASA wants
to focus on human space flight, "in hopes of reclaiming the
glory days of Apollo." He wants NASA to take the next measured
step in research, and believes that this visionary approach would
reap huge public support for NASA ."


Hearing on "Space Solar Power: A Fresh Look" before the
Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics of the House
Committee on Science, October 24, 1997.

http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/legaff/solar.html




s