Nov 4 1976
From The Space Library
JSC announced selection of the Boeing Aerospace Co. for negotiations leading to award of a contract, valued at about $970 000, funded by NASA and ERDA for the study of space-based solar-power systems. The 12-mo two-phase study would provide specific data on the most effective way to convert solar to electrical energy using satellites, and would determine where in space the various phases of a solar-power satellite should be constructed and assembled; the second phase would define weights and costs of a satellite system. The project. would aim at providing uninterrupted energy beamed to earth from large satellites in fixed orbits at altitudes above 35 000 km. (JSC Release 76-69)
ERDA conducted a demonstration at Ft. Belvoir, Va., for military decision makers on the use of solar cells by the armed forces. Arranged in cooperation with the U.S. Army's Mobility Equipment Research and Development Command, the exhibit would show the advantages of solar cells over conventional sources of electricity in applications such as communications and surveillance. Increased purchase by the military could improve availability of solar cells to the general population, ERDA said, by stimulating mass production and thereby lowering costs. (ERDA release l Nov 76)
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