Laying the Foundation for Space Solar Power An Assessment of NASA's Space Solar Power Investment Strategy (2001) / Chapter Skim
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Executive Summary
Executive Summary
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NASA made extensive use of cost and performance modeling to guide its technology investment strategy. Throughout this report the terms "SERT program" and "SERT effort" refer to both the 2-year Space Solar Power Exploratory Research and Technology (SERT)
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Investment Area FY FY FY FY FY 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 Systems integration, analysis, and modeling Total technology development Technology flight demonstrations Total investment s 73 10 88 7 92 25 124 128 211 8 8 149 154 125 150 282 312 SOURCE: Adapted in part from "Strategic Research and Technology Road Map." Briefing by John Mankins and Joe Howell, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, to the Committee for the Assessment of NASA's Space Solar Power Investment Strategy, National Research Council, Washington, D.C., December 14, 2000. has developed a set of integrated roadmaps containing goals, lists of technology challenges and objectives, and a strawman schedule of program milestones that guide technology investment.
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2-1-7) Solar Power Generation Wireless Power Transmission Space Power Management and Distribution Assembly, Maintenance, and Servicing In-Space Transportation Under current funding conditions focus on nearer-term applications but maintain the long-term investments in technology development.
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As SSP development progresses, however, the architecture cost goal should be adjusted periodically to reflect changes in expectations about future power markets, environmental costs, and other social costs that may arise during development. The NASA SERT program began development of rigorous modeling and system analysis studies, which were used as a basis for technology and programmatic investments.
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Successful attainment of the aggressive cost and mass goals that must be met if SSP is to provide commercially competitive terrestrial power will require that NASA focus on highreward, high-risk solar array research. Cost-competitive SSP terrestrial electric power will require major technology breakthroughs in solar power generation.
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It appears to the committee that many of these goals for launch costs and for system mass and cost must be significantly lower than those currently being used by the NASA team if the system is to produce competitive terrestrial power. Sensitivity studies should be an integral part of any large-scale modeling effort in order to quantify the impacts of departures from the nominal input metrics, many of which are simply assumptions for the SERT program at this time.
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Additionally, testing of new robotics and assembly tech7 niques should be incorporated into all flight test demonstrations to further test advanced technologies. Recommendation: The SSP program should continue the use of technology flight demonstrations to provide a clear mechanism for measuring technology advancement and to provide interim opportunities for focused program and technology goals on the path to a full-scale system.
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While it is beyond the purview of this study to specifically recommend funding increases for programs other than the SSP program assessed in this report, the committee believes that such technologies are important to the ultimate success of SSP. SUMMARY The committee has examined the SERT program's technical investment strategy and finds that while the technical and economic challenges of providing space solar power for commercially competitive terrestrial electric power will require breakthrough advances in a number of technologies, the SERT program has provided a credible plan for making progress toward this goal.
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