Value chain · CLM-0060
In plain terms
In 1981 a NASA review panel said the 230 watts per square metre figure rested on an obsolete theory with no experimental support, and made resolving it the top priority.
The claim as recorded
A NASA review panel stated in 1981 that the 23 mW/cm2 figure is based on an obsolete theoretical foundation and is without experimental support, that it is nonetheless the constraining parameter in a number of SPS design areas, and that top priority should be given to determining a hard upper limit, with sufficient funds allocated to answer the question as soon as possible.
Scope and limits
A review panel's assessment within a NASA Reference Publication. It records the panel's judgement in 1981, not a measurement, and not a later resolution.
What it assumes
No assumptions are recorded against this claim.
Where it comes from
Verbatim, SRC-107 p236: "The panel believes that top priority should be given to determining a hard upper limit for the permissible microwave power density which can be sent through the ionosphere. The number being used, 23 mW/cm2, is based on an obsolete theoretical foundation and is without experimental support, and yet it is the constraining parameter in a number of the SPS design areas. Sufficient funds and resources should be allocated so that this question can be answered as soon as possible."
Related records
- Answers question
- QST-001 not published in this releaseQST-009 not published in this release
- Contradicts
- CLM-0018 The most recent UK government report calls 230 watts per square metre a limit to be reached...
Cite this
energyaperture.com/c/clm-0060
CLM-0060, Energy Aperture, as of 1981.
Connected records
Other published records linked to this one. A list, not a judgement.
- Also from SRC-107
- CLM-0033 (low confidence)Apart from a 1981 NASA review that found no evidence for the number and suggested a higher one, nobody was found to have revisited it, and...CLM-0061The experiments were done. They found heating two or three times stronger than normal, not the tenfold effect predicted, no irregularities...CLM-0062By 1981 the theory was being revised to a steeper frequency dependence, which would raise the permitted power density.CLM-0063NASA suggested in 1981 that 550 to 600 watts per square metre might be reasonable, roughly two and a half times the figure still in use...CLM-0101The 1978 contract required the researchers to report fixes if ionospheric disturbance pushed the pilot-beam phase error past 2 to 3...CLM-0160A 1978-81 NASA design study calculated that simply pointing the satellite's structure accurately enough, without any electronic correction...CLM-0420NASA's 1981 report says the experiments found nothing supporting the 23 milliwatt limit, that the measured heating was two or three times...CLM-0901Each antenna must hold its position along the line to the receiver within about three millimetres for a tenth of a decibel. The whole 1970s...More on the source page.
- Contradicted by
- CLM-0018The most recent UK government report calls 230 watts per square metre a limit to be reached because it lowers cost, and cites an earlier...