I found the following linked article to be an interesting twist on the old idea of solar power sats.
http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/070411_tech_wed.html
http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/070411_tech_wed.html
Satellite Power for the Front Line
- Thread starter sgbrown
- Start date
Andrew Boulton
The Adminator
It's an old idea, but safely transmitting the power has always been the problem.
Kind of the "If it's enough power to power the laser rifle, how come the operators not toast?
Also, how do you forward deploy a 1 km dish even outside an active combat zone?
Easier with traveller tech to move in a small fusion reactor - a lot more power too. Unless you came up with a tuned meson burst for transmission and a portable meson powered generator (TL???? Also not to sure I'd want to be around if the satellite got it's coordinates a bit off!) - I beginning to figure this would be dead end tech or at least limited application civilian tech for Traveller.
Any other ideas of how it could be made to work?
mbrinkhues
SOC-14 1K
Main problem for Traveller is the same as with all satellites. FASA's old "Renegade Legion" (or at least one of the novels) pointed that out:
With easy access to space any satellite that makes itself visibel is a dead satellite. And a satellite broadcasting power will likely make itself a target very quickly.
With easy access to space any satellite that makes itself visibel is a dead satellite. And a satellite broadcasting power will likely make itself a target very quickly.
Putting aside the issue of why and just looking at Traveller Tech to answer 'how' for beamed power:
Step 1: build a space based solar array to collect the power. MegaTraveller has details for solar panels to generate power. To generate 250 MW at TL 12 requires 3086 sq meters of solar cells at a cost of 6.2 MCr.
Step 2: beam the power to the surface. At TL 13 lasers become x-ray and can pass through clouds, so this is the TL for worlds with atmospheres to employ power satellites. A 250 MW TL 13 Beam laser will add 1 MCr to the cost and deliver a tight beam of energy to the planet surface. Add another 200,000 Cr for a targeting system to keep it aimed at the catcher array.
Step 3: catch the beam and convert it back to power. Here we need to be creative with the rules. If we assume that it is possible to tune the solar power array to the same x-ray frequency as the laser, then we can ‘catch’ the beam with a 1 square meter solar array (2000 credits?) that will convert it back to 250 MW of useable power.
The system assumes 100 percent efficiency (unrealistic, but I have no specific data from Traveller rules) and this is NOT a safe beam to fly through. A safe beam would require a larger array in step 3 (1/10 the size and cost of the array in step 1 would only be 10 times the power density of sunlight – a sunburn hazard, but probably not fatal).
Total cost is 7.4 Mcr per 250 MW with a ‘dangerous beam’ and 8.0 Mcr per 250 MW with a ‘safe beam’ using standard Traveller equipment.
Step 1: build a space based solar array to collect the power. MegaTraveller has details for solar panels to generate power. To generate 250 MW at TL 12 requires 3086 sq meters of solar cells at a cost of 6.2 MCr.
Step 2: beam the power to the surface. At TL 13 lasers become x-ray and can pass through clouds, so this is the TL for worlds with atmospheres to employ power satellites. A 250 MW TL 13 Beam laser will add 1 MCr to the cost and deliver a tight beam of energy to the planet surface. Add another 200,000 Cr for a targeting system to keep it aimed at the catcher array.
Step 3: catch the beam and convert it back to power. Here we need to be creative with the rules. If we assume that it is possible to tune the solar power array to the same x-ray frequency as the laser, then we can ‘catch’ the beam with a 1 square meter solar array (2000 credits?) that will convert it back to 250 MW of useable power.
The system assumes 100 percent efficiency (unrealistic, but I have no specific data from Traveller rules) and this is NOT a safe beam to fly through. A safe beam would require a larger array in step 3 (1/10 the size and cost of the array in step 1 would only be 10 times the power density of sunlight – a sunburn hazard, but probably not fatal).
Total cost is 7.4 Mcr per 250 MW with a ‘dangerous beam’ and 8.0 Mcr per 250 MW with a ‘safe beam’ using standard Traveller equipment.
Icosahedron
SOC-14 1K
I'd go for Striker (or FFS ?) laser construction rules. They provide an input and output power for the laser, and then I'd assume the catcher uses a similar ratio.
