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D. R. Criswell (copyright 2003) 1
LUNAR SOLAR POWERSYSTEM
Dr. David R. CriswellInst. Space Systems Operations
Un. Houston and UH-Clear [email protected]
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
D. R. Criswell (copyright 2003) 4
POWER BEAMING
• SPECIALIZED FORM OFRADAR
• EARTH-TO-MOONDEMONSTRATED BYARECIBO
• MOON-TO-EARTHBEAMING IS REASONABLEEXTENSION OF EXISTINGTECHNOLOGIES– Large phased arrays– Distributed arrays (ex. VLA)
D. R. Criswell (copyright 2003) 5
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
D. R. Criswell (copyright 2003) 6
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
D. R. Criswell (copyright 2003) 8
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*
D. R. Criswell (copyright 2003) 11
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)
