Space solar power station (SSPS) and microwave power transmission (MPT)

Abstract

Summary form only given. Radio, with its applications, has been one of the key/core technologies during the 20th century. It has expanded the horizons of human activity and is now an indispensable medium to human life. Its main application today is telecommunications. However, radio can be used for other purposes. One promising program to overcome the desperate lack of energy supply is the "space solar power station" (SSPS). The SSPS will be constructed in geosynchronous orbit and has the capability to provide a clean and large-scale stable power supply continuously from space to the ground via a microwave power beam. The power transmission of space-generated electricity via microwave is one of the new frontiers as an enabling technology for the realization of the SSPS. The paper provides a review of the state of the art on SSPS research and development as well as some technical aspects of microwave power transmission.