Obtaining Orbital Parking Slots and Frequencies

I was asked two interesting questions yesterday by people interested in commercial development of space-based solar power (SBSP):

1. How would a company obtain a geostationary parking slot for a SBSP satellite?
2. How would a company obtain a license to broadcast power from space over radio frequencies?

Excellent questions. Here are the answers that I slapped together from the Internet. (Special thanks to Maldivian Digital, and Wikipedia for having some well researched info posted on their sites!) Please check my work and let me know if I’ve embarrassed myself in public (again):

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ITAR (which I hate with a passion) Slammed by the Economist

In my humble opinion, the greatest impediment standing in the way of greater business opportunity and international partnerships for the American space industry are our export laws contained in the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR), which I hate with a passion!

It is important for us to understand how ITAR (WIHWAP) can affect our space industry, because space-based solar power is such a huge undertaking that international partnerships will be required not only for construction, but also for ownership and development of an international customer base.

The Economist published an article yesterday criticizing ITAR (WIHWAP). The AIAA Daily Launch (an email news service for members of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics–you are a member, aren’t you?) described the article this way:

Weaponization, Environmental Risk, and Multinational Approaches

Today I was asked by a politically-minded individual what political hurtles space-based solar power might face when confronted with questions of weaponization, safety, and multinational approaches. My reply is below. Please check my work!

“Your concern about weaponization of the system and environmental risks are proper and deserve solid answers. For the answers (and a whole bunch of other great information) let me point you to a special edition of Ad Astra magazine produced by the National Space Society.

Space-Based Solar Power: Part of a Balanced Energy Diet!

Our good friend Geoffrey Styles of the GSW Strategy Group, LLC, gave a most thought provoking presentation at the Space Frontier Foundation’s NewSpace 2008 Conference In Crystal City, Virgina, on 19 July 2008. It was a great conference! They even provided us with a brief synopsis of our space solar power panel.

Included here are the slides he used to describe a new way of thinking of national energy consumption. \”SSP In a Changing Energy Diet\” Instead of discussing the energy “mix” of sources, he rightly points out that like calories in a person’s diet, not all calories are equal.

Space-Based Solar Power Interim Assessment (Release 0.1) is Published!

Hello Everyone!

Click here for the “Interim Assessment!”

Communitarian Laws versus Venture Capitalism

United Nations Treaties and Principles
On Outer Space, UN, New York, 2002

Do international treaties and laws impede the development of space-based solar power?

Last week at small symposium in Colorado, a professor of space law argued that the profits from any resource harvested from space, to include energy, must be shared with all of humanity and that this principle is enshrined in Article I of the Outer Space Treaty of 1967:

“The exploration and use of outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, shall be carried out for the benefit and in the interests of all countries, irrespective of their degree of economic or scientific development, and shall be the province of all mankind.”