Look at the attention you’re getting!

Our very good friends at the National Space Society recently published a special report of their acclaimed Ad Astra magazine covering Space-Based Solar Power! It goes into some technical details, but best of all it tells the story about how the Caballeros worked with the National Security Space Office to make the Space-Based Solar Power Study Group report become reality.  It was based on a lot of the work done right here, on this blog!

So for those of you who have been contributing to the discussions here, THIS IS A STORY ABOUT YOU and the good things you’ve been doing here. So, the next time your spouse or significant other complains that you are spending way too much time in the blogosphere…toss him or her a copy of this magazine and say, “I’ve been doing important work to solve the energy crisis!” You’ll be telling the truth!

Kudos to the National Space Society and their Ad Astra team–they are great people to work with and are doing a great job advancing humanities spacefaring prowess. You are a member, aren’t you?

Many have already seen this, but it is well worth posting here.

Guy Pignolet from the Sunsat Energy Council gave an interesting presentation about Space Solar Power on 7 February 2008 at a recent LIFT08 Conference.

To see the presentation, click here: Space Solar Power by Guy Pignolet (Moderator- Bruno Guissani)

Enjoy!

Coyote

Here’s one for our technical experts.

Staff writers for the Tech Space section of Space Mart reported back on 20 Feb 2007 in an online article titled, “Darkest Material Developed In Lab:”

The material, a thin coating comprised of low-density arrays of loosely vertically aligned carbon nanotubes that absorbs more than 99.9 percent of light, could one day be used to boost the efficiency and effectiveness of solar energy conversion, infrared sensors and other devices…(bolding by coyote)

Would a couple of our technical friends please explain why this could boost efficiency and effectiveness of solar energy conversion…better yet, apply this to space solar power?

Coyote

It’s time to get busy again!

Our very good friend, Hu Davis, recently circulated some good questions regarding the who, what, when, where, why, and hows of demonstrating space solar power. He poses the questions from the perspectives of two groups; space solar power enthusiasts, and some NASA people who work the International Space Station (ISS). (Please note that like the rest of us, our friends at NASA-ISS are just brainstorming with us to see what help the ISS might be able to lend to advance space solar power concepts–there is no official NASA position or policy on any of this yet.)

Below you will find the questions posed by Hu. Please comment!

From the SBPS crowd:

1. What should be the content, scope and cost of an updated systems study to re-examine the cost effectiveness of a full scale network of 5 to 10 GWe satellites and their necessary space and ground systems? There are many subordinate questions not yet answered, including how to pay for it and who should run it.

2. What should be early, low cost (< $100 Millions total) demonstrations? By whom? When? Source of funds?

3. What should be demonstrated at higher cost, but costing much less (10-20% of that of a full scale prototype)? Sequence? Timing? Cost? Whose money?

4. How should we address the “space infra-structure” matter? When? Who? In what order? Time and costs?

5. What will the full scale prototype be? When can it become operational? Schedule? Cost? Barriers?

From the ISS bunch:

1. What can the ISS support? Power / time? Suspended mass? Torques? Dimensions of test articles? Pointing? RMS usage? EVA? Expected end date of availability? We need an “ISS User’s Guide” for space power development.

Thanks! Coyote

Our good friend, Howard Bloom, raised an important point about the need to standardize our terminology. He’s right. From here on out, we will simply refer to space solar power (SSP) and NOT space-based solar power (SBSP). They mean the same thing, but SSP is by far the more common term. So, SSP it is!

How did the term Space-Based Solar Power (SBSP) ever come about? Okay, I confess that’s sort of my fault. Read on. You’re going to laugh (as we do here).

When the Green Hornet, Lips, and the Evil Dr Mankins (my fellow conspirators; the original SSP Caballeros) began discussing space solar power we sent lots of emails to each other. This was before texting was popular, apparently. Unfortunately, whenever they would use the acronym “SSP” it would trigger a very aggressive anti-virus software on the particular unclassified network that I used inside the Pentagon. It would not only trash the email and attachments, but usually would lock me out of the network!

Each time this occurred I was visited by our lovely and talented security and IT personnel who only wanted to help! They were very patient and taught me how to fill out many forms and reports. With so many emails with “SSP” contained therein, we became good friends. (Actually, I suspect Lips was entertaining himself at my expense by sending me several such emails every hour, despite my protestations).

A couple of weeks later, after I became bored with my new friends, I asked the others if we could please start calling it space-based solar power (SBSP) so other people in my organization could spend more time with our security and IT staff. They reluctantly consented, and the term space-based solar power (meaning space solar power) was created.

Well, progress has been made and “SSP” is not a problem for the networks inside the Pentagon anymore. Don’t worry, we’ve found other work for the security and IT managers in my old office.

In the meantime, you were probably wondering what idiot lied awake at night and invented an entirely new acronym for good ol’ SSP.

As Paul Harvey says, “and now you know…the rest of the story.”

Cheers!

Coyote

P.S. Someone referred to me as the “Che Guevara of spacepower” the other day. Great. I guess our mantra becomes “SOLAR POWER TO THE PEOPLE!”

P.P.S. Dude, if it advances space solar power, I’ll take up wearing a beret and khakis.

All,

One of our regular contributors, Dan Lantz, provided us with a link to an incredibly well done Internet video that explains the Google Lunar X-Prizes for Lunar Exploration in a production called “Moon 2.0.” Space-Based Solar Power makes a cameo appearance!

Personally, I think it steals the scene, like Sean Connery arriving triumphantly in the last scene of Keven Costner’s movie “Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves.” Oops, did I spoil it? Sorry.

The long term plan is to eventually produce such satellites on the Moon and boost them back to Earth orbit to provide clean energy! That way we take advantage of the Moon’s lower gravity that makes launching them back to Earth an much easier energy proposition. Naturally we will have to construct considerable infrastructure on the Moon first to make it happen. I’d like to point out that we may also need solar power satellites in Lunar orbit and eventually Martian orbit as well.

The short term plan, of course is to produce solar power satellites on the Earth and boost them into our orbit until the Moon is developed sufficiently to begin production and launch from there.

Please take a look at the video. Think about it. What type of incentives do you think are appropriate and effective stimuli to promote private sector investment in space-based solar power and its supporting infrastructure? Who might offer such prizes?

I’m back by popular demand…and you are back by even more popular demand!

It’s been almost a month since we published the Interim Assessment on the 10th of October in a very public event at the National Press Club in Washington. Then we took a little pause, did a few media interviews, and now we’re ready to get busy again!

You remain the central players in this effort. The Interim Assessment was built on the bedrock of comments provided right here on this website. Quite frankly, by working together in this wide open public forum, we learned more and spent less than any other study on record! More importantly (and to our amazement) we discovered enormous public enthusiasm for space-based solar power!

This enthusiasm even brought 13 national and international organizations together to form the Space Solar Alliance for Future Energy (SSAFE). Their goal is “to ensure that the benefits of renewable clean energy from space solar power are understood and supported by business, governments and the general public.”

So you see, our advocates are lining up. We need to give them something worth advocating for! Let’s make sure we avoid getting caught up in the enthusiasm and continue to provide sound, dispassionate, realistic, and feasible analysis!

Now we need to roll up our sleeves, sharpen our pencils (or click for fresh lead), put on our thinking caps, and get back work!

You’ve had time to read the Interim Assessment and think about it. What are your expectations for the next step? What should the Phase 1 Study look like?

You’ve probably also seen at least some of the the media coverage (for which we are grateful, because it expands our base of participants here!). What are your thoughts about it? What more can we do to expand awareness of our effort? Can we do more? Should we do more???

Let the brainstorming begin!

Coyote

P.S. I have actually been promoted and transferred from Dream Works in the National Security Space Office to the University of Reading in the UK where I am pursuing a PhD in strategic studies under the hand of Professor Colin Gray. (Yes, I have a flat next to an Irish pub! Many locals have been briefed to full understanding of SBSP on bar napkins.) I’m very proud to remain a part of the NSSO’s space-based solar power team and am delighted to continue leading the discussions here, making public presentations, and giving interviews. It is extra work, but like Major General Armor said in the beginning, “Security in the form of clean energy independence is just too important to America, its allies, and the world!”

P.P.S. One news story called us the “Pentagon’s space hippies.” Groovy man!

Hello Everyone!

Click here for the “Interim Assessment!”

From the Foreword of the report itself:

Preventing resource conflicts in the face of increasing global populations and demands in the 21st century is a high priority for the Department of Defense. All solution options to these challenges should be explored, including opportunities from space.

In March 2007, the National Security Space Office’s Advanced Concepts Office presented the idea of space‐based solar power (SBSP) as a potential grand opportunity to address not only energy security, but environmental, economic, intellectual, and space security as well. First proposed in the late 1960’s, the concept was last explored in the NASA’s 1997 “Fresh Look” Study. In the decade since this last study, advances in technology and new challenges to security have warranted a current exploration of the strategic implications of SBSP. For these reasons, my office sponsored a no‐cost Phase 0 Architecture Feasibility Study of SBSP during the Spring and Summer of 2007.

Unlike traditional contracted architecture studies, the attached report was compiled through an innovative and collaborative approach that relied heavily upon voluntary internet discussions by more than 170 academic, scientific, technical, legal, and business experts around the world. I applaud the high quality of work accomplished by the team leaders and all participants who contributed in the last six months. I encourage them to continue their work in earnest as they move beyond this interim report and seek to answer the question of whether SBSP can be developed and deployed within the first half of this century to provide affordable, clean, safe, reliable, sustainable and expandable energy for mankind.

This interim assessment contains significant initial findings and recommendations that should provide pause and consideration for national and international policy makers, business leaders, and citizens alike. It appears that technological challenges are closing rapidly and the business case for creating SBSP is improving with each passing year. Still absent, however, is an appropriate catalyst to stimulate the various interested parties toward actually developing a SBSP capability. I encourage all to read this report and consider the opportunities that SBSP presents as part of a national and international debate for action on how best to preserve security for all.

//signed 9 Oct 07//
JOSEPH D. ROUGE, SES
Acting Director, National Security Space Office

Space-Based Solar Power Advocates and Critics,

September 15th is here…so where’s the final report from the National Security Space Office that was promised???

There won’t be any. Well, not a final report, and not by close of business today.

On the 6th of September, following the first day of the Space-Based Solar Power Conference held in Breckenridge, Colorado, Mr Joe Rouge, the Deputy Director of the National Security Space Office, issued new orders to the director of the study (me). It was jointly determined between several officials and conferees that space-based solar power merits even closer look in several areas. No findings are yet final. We still have more questions than answers. Therefore the National Security Space Office will issue an interim report in October, and will continue thereafter!

Tentatively, the National Security Space Office may release its interim report at a National Space Society event held at the National Press Club on 10 October, 2007. This has not yet been finalized, but it may be the right type of event to get the word out about the awesome potential of space-based solar power and the challenges that must be overcome to help the commercial sector proceed in this endeavor with a successful business case.

The emphasis throughout this study is that the DoD wants to be a customer of clean energy from space, not a producer.

To foreshadow the interim report, it will likely address the following in some form or fashion:

• The study design: The first-ever DoD led study using the Internet in a wide open public forum to develop a future concept, including:
  • Vision
  • Mission
  • Assumptions
  • Methodology
  • Limitations
• Goals:
  • 10% U.S. electric baseload by 2050
  • Crawl, walk, run approach
• Open Trade Spaces (Requiring greater analysis and testing):
  • Lift: Expendables? Reusable rockets? Spaceplanes? A mix? How many? Launch sites?
  • Energy generation on orbit: Photovoltaics (panels or concentrators?)? Solar dynamic (what type?)?
  • Power transmission to Earth: Microwave? Laser? What frequencies for either?
  • Scalability of small space solar power satellites to large (Kilowatt range to Megawatt range to Gigawatt range): Which technologies are best in each scale? What testing is unique to each scale? What learning is needed?
  • Earth reception: size and types of rectennas? Intellectual properties?
  • Legal issues: Liability? Indemnity? Licensing? Frequency managment?
  • Orbitology: Which orbits are best suited for each scale? What geostationary slots will be required and when? What orbits will be used for assembly and transfer?
  • On orbit assembly: Robotic? Man-robot mix? What orbits will be used for assembly? Assemble low and transfer high? Finally assembly at geo?
  • Orbital transfer: Self-propelled or independent space tugs?
  • Operations: By whom? From where? Telemetry and station keeping? Ground network?
  • Liquification: How? Where? What types of liquids? Distribution?
  • Business case: How does the commercial sector get involved? What will stimulate investment along the critical path?
  • etc
• Findings and Recommendations:
  • Pending (okay, the caballeros know what the findings and recommendations are…but we have to keep you in suspense until we release the interim report, right? Here’s a hint…if you read every word on this website you will know most of what will appear in the report!)

Yesterday at one of my alternate work locations (okay…another one of D.C.’s Irish pubs) a space skeptic asked me to write down all the security reasons that explain why the DoD is interested in space-based solar power. Fair enough. So this is what I wrote on the bar napkin: (I share it with you because that’s what I do!)

Immediate military tactical and operational needs:

1. Dramatically reduce the energy logistics train to forward operating bases and reduce the need to secure massive energy convoys and stores in:
   1. Disaster relief efforts
   2. Nation building efforts
   3. Combat zones
2. Beam power directly to vehicles in all operating media for the following reasons
   1. Reduce weight of carrying fuel
   2. Increase range and loiter time
   3. Eliminate need for refueling and reduce the need for refueling vehicles
   4. Reduce the need for consuming local energy supplies
   5. Reduce size and signature
3. Use SSP for liquifaction of carbon-neutral fuels for current generation of liquid-fueled systems
   1. Continue to exploit current liquid fuel infrastructure, using carbon neutral fuels
   2. Gain independence from foreign liquid fuel providers

Urgent national security strategic goals:

1. Assist in achieving national energy independence from current liquid fuel providers
   1. Reduce level of national interest in unstable regions
   2. Reduce national dependence on unfriendly foreign governments
   3. Reduce the risk of energy competition wars in the 21st Century
2. Assist allies in achieving their national energy independence
   1. Develop and strengthen broad international partnerships
   2. Participate in international energy consortia and alliances
3. Economic: Become an energy exporter
   1. Increase national ability to influence or avoid geopolitical events
   2. Increase GNP, wealth of the nation, and increase tax revenue
   3. Use energy earnings to pay off national debt
4. Environmental: Dramatically reduce carbon emissions into the atmosphere
   1. Prevent food wars which might happen if global warming continues
   2. Enhance soft power and green credibility around the world
   3. Lead the international clean energy movement by example

So you can see, this is a disruptive technology for security operations, but far more importantly, it will redefine geopolitical relationships and removes energy competition as the major driver for wars. Personally, I think war prevention is the highest form of security.

The other key to improving security with this concept is moving it quickly into the commercial sector at the earliest possible time. The DoD merely wants to be a customer of a commercially available product–energy. We do NOT want to trigger false security dilemmas. This will drive multinational partnering and international engagement, which is called for in our National Space Policy. This is one of the key reasons why we initiated this study on the Internet and in the media–to provide openness.

Your comments???