From: abdutta@icaen.uiowa.edu (jit)
Subject: Indian Scientists Eye Solar Power Station in Space
Date: 31 May 1995
Newsgroup: sci.space.news
Indian Scientists Eye Solar Power Station in Space
By Lalitha Vaidyanathan
Bombay, May 30 (PTI) Indian scientists are thinking of setting up a
first-ever solar power station (SPS) in the space to rid the nation of
the never ending power cuts, once for all.
The dream project, still on the drawing board, can mitigate the
perennial shortage of engergy because sunlight will be available to the
station for almost 24 hours with the shadow period being less than 12
minutes near midnight, when power demand is the least. A ground based
system will get direct sunlight at the most for twelve hours.
According to air Cmd (Retd) R Gopalaswami, the intensity of sunlight in
the space will be much more where it does not have to pass through the
earth's biosphere. He says India and the usa will be the primary
partners in this venture, with other world industries helping with
collaborative technology development.
The initial objective, he says, would be designing and construction of
high efficiency, heavy lift aerospace planes and construction of large
space/ground based photovoltaic power stations.
Experts, at a meeting held in Bangalore recently to discuss the mission
requirement, said for establishing the SPS, they would need heavy lift
space launchers, with a performance better than the current world's
best space launch vehicle.
Gopalaswami, an hyperplane specialist, says the mission is an
affordable megaproject for a borderless world. He says the satellite
solar power station was first conceived inthe USA but was not
commercialised then, essentially because of non-availability of heavy
lift space cargo launch vehicles capable of low-cost launch operations.
In 1988, at the 38th conference of international astronatical
federation, India presented a new aerospace vehicle design concept for
a heavy lift space launcher called "hyperplane".
"This design in the last few years had been closely reviewed by India
and Russia and also several leading aerospace companies in the USA.
Today, the hyperplane design has become a practical reality", he says.
"Hyperplane" design introduced an "aerobic" principle by which the
spaceplane takes off horizontally from any airport like a conventional
aircraft launch vehicle with payload fractions of 15-20 per cent a
feat not imaginable in the 1970's.
India's aerobic design space launch vehicle 'hyperplane' has been
internationally declared as feasible and described as 'true aerospace
plane', says Mr R M Vasagam, director, advanced technoloy and planning
of department of space, Bangalore.
Air Cmde Gopalaswami says a solar power station in space would
have lot of advantages over a ground solar power station. Firstly waste
heat from electric power generation would be dissipated into the space
instead of the earth's biosphere and its life would exceed 30 to 40
years. Also weight of SPS would be hundred times less than that of
equivalent ground based system because it will operate at 'zero'
gravity. The station in space will not be subjected to damaging effects
of rain, hailstorm, snow, atmospheric corrosion, windstorms, tornado or
earthquakers either. Another important aspect is that the sabotage of
an SPS would be virtually impossible.
Gopalaswami says technical feasibility and commercial viability of SPS
programme has already been established worldwide. But still technical
practicality of construction in space is yet to be established and
thermal stresses on SPS due to sudden occultation by earth shadow may
pose significant design problems.
Another disadvantage may be that international jurisdiction could
become a problem. He says radio frequency interference due to microwave
transmission will be an international issue requiring resolution. But
overall the advantages of the SPS may overcome the drawbacks of the
cherished project.
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