BOSTON — A
Pentagon office is taking advantage of the collaborative nature of the Internet
as it studies potential applications for space-based solar power, according to
one of the officials leading the effort.
The effort marks the first time the National
Security Space Office (NSSO) has conducted a study that relies heavily on
Internet collaboration, according to Air Force Col. (select) M.V. "Coyote"
Smith, chief of the NSSO's future concepts division. Smith is the director of
the study, which began in late April.
In a July
18 interview, Smith said his time is the only resource the NSSO has
used on the study, which is due to be delivered to Maj. Gen. James Armor,
NSSO's director, in September. Two other Pentagon officials leading the effort
are working on a volunteer basis in their spare time, and John Mankins, a
former NASA official who had led the agency's work on this topic, is donating
his time as well to help the NSSO tap into past work, Smith said. Mankins
currently serves as president of the Space Power Association.
A key
component of the study is an ongoing discussion moderated by Smith on a Web
site hosted by the Space Frontier Foundation. The foundation also has helped
collect input from scientists and engineers who also have been working on the space-based
solar power issue, in many cases in their spare time as well.
The Web
site, which is located at http://spacesolarpower.wordpress.com,
has received more than 5,000 hits since it went online in mid June, Smith said.
The Web site features a blog run by Smith, and people interested in the topic
can respond to his posts with feedback. The site also features information
about the NSSO study and articles on the topic.
Based on
the success thus far, Smith said that he would like to see the NSSO open future
studies up to similar public discussion where classification is not a limiting
factor.
Jeff
Krukin, executive director of the Space Frontier Foundation, which has been
studying space-based solar power for years, said that he has been pleased with
the collaboration with the NSSO thus far, and would like to work together again
on other topics in the future. Krukin said he has welcomed the NSSO's interest
in space-based solar power, as it helps add legitimacy to the concept. The
Space Frontier Foundation believes there are energy
and environmental benefits that could come from space-based solar power —
collecting solar power in space and transmitting it back to Earth — and that
construction of systems for this purpose could provide a major stimulus for the
space industry. For example, it could lead to the construction and launch of
more satellites, he said.
Krukin said
the idea for collaborating with the NSSO came after an event in April when he
asked a Pentagon official who was speaking at a luncheon about the NSSO's
interest in space solar power after reading about it in Space News. Smith was
sitting next to Krukin, and the two began talking about space-based solar
power, Krukin said. Both Smith and Krukin said while they are excited about the
potential benefits that could come from space-based solar power, they do not
view it as a panacea for military or civilian energy needs, and encouraged the
development of other new energy sources.
With
satellites that could collect solar energy and beam it to areas all over the
world, Smith said space-based solar power could help reduce the military's need
for convoys that carry fuel through dangerous areas, and could be used for
disaster relief operations like the reconstruction of an area devastated by a
hurricane as well.
"It's a
formidable challenge — going back to the Moon might be easier," Smith said.
"Currently with today's technology, we can't do it. I don't know if the
technology of tomorrow can close the business case, but the technology from the
day after tomorrow will close it. My job is to find the critical path to the
day after tomorrow's technology."
Smith said
the study is intended to identify various efforts that are ongoing today within
the federal government to develop critical technology needed for space-based
solar power, and to use the results to advocate for robust funding for those
efforts.
As that
technology is matured, energy companies may see that the space-based solar
power concept is viable, and build and operate the satellites and required ground
infrastructure, he said.
One
critical part of the equation likely will be new launch vehicles capable of
carrying heavy payloads to geosynchronous orbit at a much lower cost than the
vehicles of today, Smith said. Significantly reduced launch costs will be
critical as limitations with solar array technology, another technology that
will need to be advanced to enable space-based solar power, likely will require
a large constellation of satellites to handle a small percentage of energy
consumption, Smith said.
Smith said
he hopes to see space-based solar power systems operational by 2050 that could
provide for a few percentage points of total U.S. energy consumption, and
perhaps as much as 10 percent of U.S. energy use by 2060.
The path
toward evolving the technology could involve developing a demonstration
satellite capable of providing about 400 kilowatts of power that could launch
around 2012, followed by two 2-megawatt satellites by 2017, he said.
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