Value chain · CLM-1475
Low confidence
The evidence behind this statement is thin, indirect or second-hand. Read it as a lead to check, not as a settled finding.
In plain terms
Some writers point out that a power satellite is not tied to one receiver: in principle it could beam to a different site, for example if a military base moved. No study held here tests this or uses it to cover a receiver that is out of action.
The claim as recorded
Two 2019 sources state, as a potential and not as a tested result, that power from space could be sent to a different receiving site. A US Naval Research Laboratory report on space solar for military installations says that if a base is relocated or closed, the energy provided to it "could quickly be redirected or reallocated", and describes global redirectability as promised by most space solar architectures. CASSIOPeiA's designer, setting out the usual case for GEO, notes that several ground sites remain in view of a GEO satellite, "potentially enabling dispatchable power".
Evidence behind this: T3 (SRC-025, a Naval Research Laboratory memorandum report); T2 (SRC-026, journal paper by the CASSIOPeiA designer). Both state a potential, not a design result.
Scope and limits
Statements of potential. Neither source models a beam moved to another site, the time it takes, or the receiving capacity it needs. SRC-025 is about military installations and relocated bases, not grid outages. The SRC-026 sentence sits inside a list the author introduces as the usual chain of reasoning for why SBSP is thought viable only at gigawatt scale (section 4, item i), so it is the general case for GEO, not a CASSIOPeiA feature. A rectenna is sized to one satellite's beam (SRC-076 PDF p.17-18), so moving a beam needs a second rectenna with spare capacity. No held source costs this.
What it assumes
No assumptions are recorded against this claim.
Where it comes from
PDF p.11 (printed p.7), item (3) "The need to increase energy architecture flexibility", read at a zoom 3 crop: "Space solar might do the same for power: provide a global resource that can be used essentially at will. If a base is relocated or closed, the energy provided to it could quickly be redirected or reallocated." SRC-025 PDF p.34 (printed p.30), item (13), read at a zoom 3 crop: even if paired with power beaming, nuclear "would not be able to provide the global redirectability promised by most space solar architectures". SRC-026 PDF p.7 (journal p.176), read at a zoom 4 crop: "Multiple ground-segments remain in view of the SPS", followed after a dash by "potentially enabling dispatchable power."
Related records
- Answers question
- QST-021 not published in this release
Cite this
energyaperture.com/c/clm-1475
CLM-1475, Energy Aperture, as of 2019.
Connected records
Other published records linked to this one. A list, not a judgement.
- Also from SRC-025
- CLM-0230A 2019 US study warns that large solar power satellites could be more at risk as more countries build anti-satellite weapons, and suggests...CLM-0232Some of the radio frequencies being considered for beaming power down from space are the same frequencies already used by military airfield...
- Also from SRC-026
- CLM-0004The author of the 2019 CASSIOPeiA paper states the beam's strongest point is about 230 watts per square metre, and says that figure was...CLM-0006None of the five main studies mentions the international radio-frequency exposure limits, or any safety standard, or a restricted area...CLM-0013The paper that modern UK studies rely on for the beam figure calls anything below 1 kilowatt per square metre safe, with 230 watts per...CLM-0336Different design studies over four decades have each simply assumed a different working lifetime for a solar power satellite, from about 15...CLM-0339A 2019 paper said solar power satellites are often assumed to need visits in orbit for repairs and refuelling, but that no system yet...CLM-0441A normal geostationary satellite needs a small, regular fuel-based nudge every year to stay in place. One 2019 design proposes cutting most...CLM-0504None of the main CASSIOPeiA-related documents in the register mentions any named safety or exposure standard, or describes any restricted...CLM-0660The 2019 CASSIOPeiA paper does not discuss electric propulsion for getting the satellite to its orbit. It only prices delivery using...More on the source page.