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Samizdata, derived from Samizdat /n. - a system of clandestine publication of banned literature in the USSR [Russ.,= self-publishing house]
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Sun power ‘The Caballeros’ of the National Space Security Office were awarded the National Space Society’s prestigious ‘Space Pioneer Award’ this evening for their work in bringing the possibilities of Space Based Solar power to the attention of the powers that be and pretty much every one else.
Although these ideas have been known ‘forever’ amongst my circles, they have been out of the limelight for decades due to a Carter-era hatchet job.
So, congrats to our friends in DOD, and new found drinking buddy Coyote Smith!
The Caballeros receive their just rewards for saving the planet. Coyote is second from right. I’ll add other names later.
Photo: copyright Dale Amon, All Rights Reserved
Speaking of drinking… there is a party in the suite down the hall, so that is me away!
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they have been out of the limelight for decades due to a Carter-era hatchet job
I remember Jerry Pournelle, in ‘A Step Further Out’, was scathing about Carters energy policy; the main policy document being all about conservation with not a mention of the word ‘research’.
“For the DoD specifically, beamed energy from space in quantities greater than 5 MWe has the potential to be a disruptive game changer on the battlefield.”
Can you say “death star?”
Several major challenges will need to be overcome to make SBSP a reality, including the creation of low”cost space access and a supporting infrastructure system on Earth and in space.”
That’s a real “no-shitter.”
Creation of low cost space access has been the holy grail since I started my first full-time job at Martin Marietta when I got out of grad school. Well, we’re still not there yet. The space scuttle was supposed to be it, but it wasn’t, was it? Have we got a cheap heavy lift capability yet? No.
“The SBSP Study Group found that Space”Based Solar Power is a complex engineering challenge, but requires no fundamental scientific breakthroughs or new physics to become a reality.”
When other countries figure out we can beam enough RF at them to fry them to death, they’re going to shit. That is the reality folks.
http://www.acq.osd.mil/nsso/solar/SBSPInterimAssesment0.1.pdf
They are specifically not using laser power transmission and power beaming is diffraction limited.
The military use of this is pretty much limited to delivering power to forward bases without the need for the long tail to keep generators going.
Beyond that, the best way to prevent resources wars is to have enough to go around.