RD status of the Space Solar Power SatelliteatJAXA / Institute of Space Technology and Aeronautics

摘要

The solar power satellite (SPS) or the space solarpower system (SSPS) is being studied for years bymany organizations as an alternative energy sourcein a near future when the fossil fuels become scare.There are varieties of concepts of SPS. In the earlierSPS concepts, wide area sun pointing photovoltaicarrays and earth pointing microwave antenna arecommonly used. However in such a design, rotatingjoint(s) is necessary between the photovoltaic arraysand the microwave antenna and this is a cause ofreliability problem. Therefore various other SPSconcepts are now being studied. Another trend inSPS concepts is the laser based SPS which convertthe solar energy to the laser and send the laser beamto the ground. This paper introduces current R&Dstatus of SSPS related activities within JAXA Instituteof Space Technology and Aeronautics.