D. R. Criswell (copyright 2003) 1

LUNAR SOLAR POWERSYSTEM

Dr. David R. CriswellInst. Space Systems Operations

Un. Houston and UH-Clear Lakedcriswell@houston.rr.com

281-486-5019

D. R. Criswell (copyright 2003) 2

NEED: ADEQUATE GLOBAL POWER• EXISTING GLOBAL POWER SYSTEM

– 1 billion “rich” people use electric equivalent of ≥2 kWe/person– 5 billion “poor” people use ≤0.6 kWe/person– Global power use is equivalent of

• ~220 million barrels of oil/day, or• ~4.8 •1012 Watts-electric = 4.8 TWe

– Not renewable, are polluting, depend on politically sensitiveregions, or are too expensive for most people

• NEEDED GLOBAL POWER SYSTEM– Now (≥2 kWe/person • 6 billion people) ≥ 12 TWe– By 2050 10 billion prosperous people will need ≥ 20 TWe– Power must be clean, safe, affordable, dependable, & sustainable

D. R. Criswell (copyright 2003) 3

SOLUTION: LUNAR SOLAR POWER SYSTEM

• SUN SENDS 13,000 TWs OF RELIABLE SOLAR POWERTO LUNAR SURFACE

• BASES ON MOON CONVERT SOLAR POWER TOMICROWAVE BEAMS

• BEAMS DELIVER POWERTO RECTENNAS

- Safe (<20% of sunlight)

- Reliable (through clouds, rain,smoke, etc.)

• RECTENNAS ON EARTH- Convert beams to electricity

- Deliver electricity to power grid

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POWER BEAMING

• SPECIALIZED FORM OFRADAR

• EARTH-TO-MOONDEMONSTRATED BYARECIBO

• MOON-TO-EARTHBEAMING IS REASONABLEEXTENSION OF EXISTINGTECHNOLOGIES– Large phased arrays– Distributed arrays (ex. VLA)

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EARTH’S MOON & LSP POWER BASES

• MOON WITH BASES– Receives 13,000 TWs– Bases built using known

lunar materials in knownenvironment

• 10 POWER BASEPAIRS– Always face the Earth– Beam ~20 – 30 TWe to

EarthHarvested Moon

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DEMONSTRATION LSP BASE• EARTH IS FIXED IN SKY• BASE IS COMPOSED OF

POWER PLOTS• POWER PLOT - BASIC UNIT

– #1 Solar arrays, buried wiring– #2 Microwave transmitters– #3 Reflectors form a large lens as

seen from Earth• #1, 2, & 3 ARE MADE FROM

LUNAR MATERIALS BY #4,5, & 6 PRODUCTIONEQUIPMENT

Harvesting the Moon

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MASS & COST PROJECTIONS

TOTAL MASS TO MOON (tonnes)Micro-manufacturing 24,361Hot Forming 10,313Beneficiation 3,212Habitats, shops, mobile units 22,085Chemical Refining 2,469Gather & eject to orbit 438Excavation 80Cold Assembly 28TOTAL 62,915PEOPLE (6 month tours)Moon 436Lunar Orbit 59Earth Orbit 63LUNAR & SPACE COST (2000$) 0.8 T$*ENGINEERING COST (¢/kWe-h) 0.1

• 20 TWe BY 2050 & 1,000 TWe-y BY 2070- 90% local manufacturing & tele-operation from Earth

- 1•105 km2 of reflective rectennas on Earth (0.8 T$)*

• COST DISTRIBUTION- ~75% first 30 years

- ~12 years breakeven

• TOTAL REVENUE ~80 T$@ 1 ¢/kWe-h

• REVENUE NOT INCLUDED- Clean energy premium

- Rectenna area dual-use

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PROJECTED LSP ECONOMIC ADVANTAGES

• ENERGY COST REDUCED BY 10 TO 100 TIMES• FAST GROWTH IN CAPACITY & PROFITS

THROUGH– Exponential growth in the number of power plots by

manufacturing production equipment from lunar materials– Beamed power that reduces space & lunar operational costs– Low rectenna cost & dual use of rectenna sites

• DELIVERS NET NEW ENERGY TO EARTH– Energy payback < 1 month– Enhances value of large international investments in developing

nations– Can increase world income by a factor of five or more

D. R. Criswell (copyright 2003) 9

LSP ENVIRONMENTAL ADVANTAGES

• ELECTRICITY FROM RECTENNAS– Does not produce greenhouse gasses, fuel spills, nuclides, dust,

industrial wastes, etc.– Eliminates need for hazardous facilities (nuclear, dams, mines, etc.)– Enables biosphere-independent power– Enables remediation of environmental damage, recycling of goods, and

non-polluting services and transport

• ENABLES PLANETARY PROTECTION– Solar reflectors made from lunar materials adjust solar flux onto Earth– Specialized LSP beams gently deflect dangerous asteroids & comets

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ENERGY NANO-TECH CHALLENGES• LSP CAN PROVIDE >1 TWe WITHIN 15 YEARS• NO TECHNICAL BARRIERS

– Manufacturing on Moon scales down cost & enhances growth– Nano-technologies may enhance growth rate & lower transport cost– Space & Moon are safe environments for nano-tech demonstrations

• COST ISSUES- Government return to Moon- Government-to-industry

transition- New industrial practices*- Microwave spectrum allocations

• SUSTAINABILITY- > 1 billion years- Can protect and nurture the

biosphereUH TcSAM lunar pv production*

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LSP SYSTEM SUMMARY

• LSP UNDERSTOOD• BASED ON > 1B$ OF

SPACE POWER &LUNAR STUDIES

• PROFITABLE WITH1980s TECHNOLOGY

• CAN ENABLESUSTAINABLEGLOBALPROSPERITY1971 - If we had stayed!

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RECENT LSP REFERENCES

• Innovative Solutions for CO2 Stabilization(2002) (R. Watts - editor) Cambridge Un.Press (Chapter 9)

• The Industrial Physicist, (2002) p. 12-15,April (& letters: June, August, October)http://www.tipmagazine.com

• 17th (1998) & 18th (2001) World EnergyCongresses (website - search on lunar)