Innovation has delivered humanity from the caves to the ability to access the edge of space and to send robotic explorers deep into the solar system. It is the driving force in mankind's expansion, growth and technological development. Beamed energy technology could potentially lower the cost of access to space and transportation though space, thereby lowering the cost of transporting goods and people to many destinations in the solar system and beyond. Technology spin-off from space technology investments will benefit all of humanity. Spin-offs could have a huge positive impact in the areas of electronics and instrumentation, automotive, solar energy and lower cost space transportation. In order for humanity to move into space to settle this new frontier innovation in beamed energy technologies will be required. In this book we will look at the topic of space solar energy and the technologies that can be used to generate this energy. While some of the ideas in this book go back to the original concepts many of the ideas and concepts are new. It is hoped that others will apply these ideas into even new and better approaches so that we can move into space in a really big way, but also do this in ways that are cost effective and even profitable. Access to sun power in space is the key to developing its resources and those resources are required to support large scale space settlement. We don't need to wait decades to develop the technologies for space solar energy because these technologies already exist. We are just not using them. These technologies can provide us with the means to travel rapidly and cheaply though space. They can also be used to power our industry and homes on Earth. We have only to utilize the technology. The development of space will depend on the availability of power and lots of it. Once we have mastered that, all things become possible. We will be able to transport people and cargo to many destinations in our solar system, power the earth with clean and abundant energy, and tap the resources of asteroids and comets. Once we have settled the near Earth areas of the solar system, such as, the Moon, Mars and Venus we can strike out to other star systems. As the World's need for solar energy continues to grow driven by population growth and increased industrialization, new options for this type of energy will be needed. This is especially true given that reserves of conventional energy sources such as oil, gas and uranium are rapidly being depleted and that greenhouse gases being released into the atmosphere are causing large scale damage to the Earth. We find that alternatives energy sources such as wind, ground solar and biomass have physical site limitations and while they are certainly desirable from an ecological prospective, are often high cost and cannot meet the Earth's future energy needs even if fully developed. The solar energy collected by an SPS would be converted into electricity, then into microwaves. The microwaves would be beamed to the Earth's surface, where they would be received and converted back into electricity by a large array of devices known as a rectifying antenna, or rectenna. Rectification is the process by which alternating electrical current, such as that induced by a microwave beam, is converted to direct current.
About the Author: Danny Royce Jones, Sr. (born April 9th, 1959 in Abilene, Texas) is a technology entrepreneur, venture manager, IP developer and space technology investor, injecting both start-up capital and IP into new space related and Earth based ventures. He has a degree in Construction Management and Associates degrees in Computer Programming and Computer Aided Design. Mr. Jones is a former Marine Corps NCO with eight years of active military service and three years reserve service. He is a published author with innovative approaches to space development in the area of launch vehicle design and heavy lift vehicles and space based solar power (SBSP). Mr. Jones is a known innovator in field of commercial and difficult project finance. Mr. Jones has fifteen years' experience in commercial property construction and finance. He has participated in structuring financing on numerous commercial properties and is very experienced in structuring innovative commercial financing, asset backed financing, TIF financing, Tax credits and Government backed financing. He is an active real estate investor. Ali Baghchehsara was born February 25th, 1993 in Tehran, Iran. As a talented Aerospace Researcher, inventor, and member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), he has been researching and working on engines since he was 12 years old. In 2010 he participated in the National Iranian Aerospace Competition, and took first prize for his work in the field of jet propulsion. In 2013, he was elected to be an Associate Member of the Sigma Xi Scientific Research Society. Currently, he is an Aerospace Engineering student at Karaj Payam Noor University, and has successfully worked as a R&D Engineer for a large automotive company. During his university time, he has also founded and led an Aerospace Association in Alborz Province for two years. Ali is creative person with innovative approaches to aerospace development in the areas of engine design and space based solar power (SBSP) and desires to one day become a NASA Astronaut. He is currently a member of several engineering associations, including the IET, SGAC, SAPOE, IFIA, UIA, MRO Asia, Innovate UK and ImechE.