Thunderstorm solar power satellite-issues dealing with weather modification

摘要

Tornadoes represent the most dangerous and destructive of storms. A revolutionary concept for disrupting the formation of tornadoes in a thunderstorm is proposed for evaluation. Beamed microwave energy from a satellite could heat cold rainy downdrafts to alter convective forces in the storm cell. Such a satellite is termed a thunderstorm solar power satellite (TSPS). The TSPS is based on Space Solar Power Program (SSP) concepts and technology. Other weather modification ideas are examined to relate critical issues to the TSPS. When weather modification is a subject, cloud seeding is the usual paradigm that is examined. This process has been tried for over fifty years and it still does not produce unquestionable results. Steering hurricanes is a subject of computer simulations and is early stage of analysis. It is believed that the TSPS concept merits additional analysis, numerical simulation and demonstration testing.