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Space-based solar power - Quiz
Contributed by: Hunt
  • 1. In what year did NASA initiate the Space Solar Power Exploratory Research and Technology program?
A) 1989
B) 2005
C) 1995
D) 1999
  • 2. What kind of structure did SERT propose for the solar power satellite?
A) Solid-state silicon disk
B) Liquid metal reflector
C) Inflatable photovoltaic gossamer structure
D) Rigid carbon-fiber frame
  • 3. Which orbits did the SERT program examine for solar power systems?
A) Sun-synchronous and geosynchronous
B) Geostationary and lunar orbit
C) Low Earth orbit and polar orbit
D) High Earth orbit and elliptical orbit
  • 4. What is the primary function of the proposed gigawatt space power system?
A) Store energy for space stations
B) Convert sunlight and beam energy to Earth
C) Power deep space exploration probes
D) Reflect sunlight to warm the Earth
  • 5. What is the required launch cost range for space solar power to be economically viable?
A) $50–$100 per kilogram
B) $100–$200 per kilogram
C) $1,000–$2,000 per kilogram
D) $500–$1,000 per kilogram
  • 6. According to SERT, what is a primary limitation of many terrestrial renewable energy sources?
A) High maintenance costs
B) Inherent land and water requirements
C) Regulatory hurdles
D) Lack of sunlight consistency
  • 7. What technology was proposed to help convert sunlight in the SERT model?
A) Nuclear fission reactors
B) Kinetic energy harvesters
C) Hydrogen fuel cells
D) Concentrator lenses or solar heat engines
  • 8. What does SERT stand for in the context of NASA's program?
A) Sustainable Solar Power Exploration
B) Solar Energy Research and Technology
C) Space Solar Power Exploratory Research and Technology
D) Space Satellite Power and Engineering
  • 9. What is a key requirement for the economic viability of space solar power mentioned by SERT?
A) Lower cost access to space
B) Private sector partnerships
C) Global carbon taxes
D) Government subsidies
  • 10. What did SERT conclude about the initial investment required for solar power satellites?
A) They require trillion dollar upfront investments
B) They should not require unimaginably large initial investments
C) The infrastructure cost is negligible
D) They must be fully funded by international governments
  • 11. Why was the early space-based solar power project discontinued?
A) The technology was deemed illegal by international law.
B) A major accident occurred in space.
C) The change in US administrations after the 1980 elections.
D) The sun became less efficient for energy collection.
  • 12. What equipment is used on Earth to receive the energy transmitted from space?
A) An underwater turbine.
B) A satellite relay dish.
C) A large-scale solar thermal evaporator.
D) Microwave rectenna.
  • 13. What is a major land-use concern regarding SBSP?
A) The pollution caused by the rectenna materials.
B) Antennas must be built inside protected wilderness areas.
C) The vast size required for receiving antennas.
D) The need to build antennas on top of mountain peaks.
  • 14. Which country passed the Basic Space Law in 2008 establishing solar power as a national goal?
A) United Kingdom.
B) India.
C) Japan.
D) Russia.
  • 15. Where did China start construction of an SBSP testing base in 2019?
A) Chongqing's Bishan District.
B) Shanghai's coastal development area.
C) Beijing's central research zone.
D) The Gobi Desert region.
  • 16. By what year does China plan to launch a 200-tonne SBSP station capable of generating megawatts of electricity?
A) 2030.
B) 2050.
C) 2035.
D) 2025.
  • 17. According to Pete Worden, how does the cost of space-based solar compare to terrestrial desert solar?
A) Two orders of magnitude cheaper.
B) Exactly the same.
C) Significantly cheaper.
D) Five orders of magnitude more expensive.
  • 18. Which entity manages the roadmap for commercial SBSP in Japan?
A) The Ministry of Finance.
B) JAXA.
C) The National Space Committee.
D) Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.
  • 19. Who claimed that space-based solar energy solutions were speculative and not available for decades?
A) The European Space Agency.
B) Pete Worden.
C) Li Ming.
D) The Office of Technology Assessment.
  • 20. What was the budget for the Satellite Power System Concept Development and Evaluation Program?
A) $50 million
B) $100 million
C) $10 million
D) $500 million
  • 21. What type of beams were studied for their meteorological effects on propagation?
A) Infrared beams
B) Laser beams
C) Microwave beams
D) Radio beams
  • 22. Which social factor was considered in the program's feasibility reports?
A) Public Acceptance
B) Private sector profit margins
C) Religious implications
D) Global climate change denial
  • 23. What was one of the specific organizational issues addressed in the reports?
A) International espionage
B) Centralization/Decentralization
C) Unionization of workers
D) Privatization vs Nationalization
  • 24. Into what form is sunlight typically converted for transmission to Earth in SBSP systems?
A) X-rays
B) Visible light lasers
C) Microwaves
D) Radio waves
  • 25. What group promoted SBSP for civilian energy in the 1970s?
A) The Vanguard Project
B) Arthur D. Little, Inc.
C) The L5 Society
D) The Golden Dome Consortium
  • 26. What military program in the 1980s was influenced by SBSP technology?
A) The 2025 Golden Dome program
B) The Vanguard I mission
C) The MAPLE Project
D) Strategic Defense Initiative
  • 27. Who was a physicist and early L5 member associated with the Strategic Defense Initiative?
A) Isaac Asimov
B) Donald Bren
C) Lowell Wood
D) Peter Glaser
  • 28. What was the EIRP transmitted by the MAPLE project?
A) 500 watts
B) 10 watts
C) 3.2 watts
D) 100 kilowatts
  • 29. Who wrote the 1941 story 'Reason' involving space-based energy transmission?
A) Peter Glaser
B) Donald Bren
C) Isaac Asimov
D) Lowell Wood
  • 30. Which satellite used solar panels for the first time in 1958?
A) Glaser-1
B) Vanguard I
C) L5 Satellite
D) MAPLE
  • 31. In what year was the SBSP concept first described?
A) 1968
B) 2020
C) 1973
D) 1941
  • 32. Who was granted the US patent for transmitting power via microwaves in 1973?
A) Lowell Wood
B) Donald Bren
C) Peter Glaser
D) Isaac Asimov
  • 33. How much electricity did JAXA wirelessly beam in their March 2015 demonstration?
A) 10 kilowatts
B) 5 kilowatts
C) 1.8 megawatts
D) 1.8 kilowatts
  • 34. What is the primary method Aetherflux plans to use for beaming solar power?
A) Visible light lasers
B) Microwaves
C) Infrared lasers
D) Radio waves
  • 35. What is the approximate intensity of sunlight in orbit compared to the Earth's surface?
A) 120%
B) 100%
C) 200%
D) 144%
  • 36. How long, at most, can a satellite be in Earth's shadow per night during equinoxes?
A) 30 minutes
B) 24 hours
C) 120 minutes
D) 72 minutes
  • 37. What is the main hazard of assembling large structures in LEO according to Donald J. Kessler?
A) Atmospheric drag
B) Solar radiation
C) Kessler syndrome
D) Microwave interference
  • 38. How much power did Mitsubishi Heavy Industries transmit in their March 2015 demonstration?
A) 50 kilowatts
B) 10 kilowatts
C) 1.8 kilowatts
D) 1 gigawatt
  • 39. What was the result of Aetherflux's pivot in December 2025?
A) Dissolution of the company
B) Lunar power mining
C) Focus on nuclear fusion
D) Space-based data centers
  • 40. How much more do solar panels in space degrade compared to those on Earth?
A) About five times
B) About twice
C) About twenty times
D) About eight times
  • 41. What is the estimated cost of a receiving station for 5 GW of power according to Keith Henson?
A) One billion dollars
B) Fifty million dollars
C) Five hundred million dollars
D) Ten billion dollars
  • 42. What percentage of the day do Earth-based solar panels typically collect power?
A) 10%
B) 50%
C) 99%
D) 29%
  • 43. Why is the broadcast frequency of microwave downlinks a concern for satellites in GEO?
A) It is too weak to reach the ground
B) It causes dangerous atmospheric heating
C) It requires isolating the system from other satellites
D) It is banned by international law
  • 44. Who demonstrated a microwave-powered model helicopter in 1964?
A) John C. Mankins.
B) A team at JPL Raytheon.
C) Walter Cronkite.
D) William C. Brown.
  • 45. What was the power transmission efficiency of the JPL Raytheon program between 1969 and 1975?
A) 2.45%.
B) 50%.
C) 9.6%.
D) 30%.
  • 46. What phenomenon causes the microwave beam to spread out during transmission?
A) Atmospheric interference.
B) Gravitational lensing.
C) Solar wind.
D) Diffraction.
  • 47. Where were microwave power tests conducted in 1975?
A) Maui, Hawaii.
B) Goldstone, California.
C) JPL headquarters.
D) Reunion Island.
  • 48. When did the SELENE project end?
A) 2010.
B) 1989.
C) 1993.
D) 1991.
  • 49. In the context of SBSP, what does a solar dynamic system use to concentrate light?
A) Photovoltaic arrays.
B) Rectennas.
C) Lenses.
D) Mirrors.
  • 50. Which entity held a special session on electromagnetic wireless systems in 2010?
A) Raytheon.
B) NASA.
C) IEEE.
D) JPL.
  • 51. What distance was involved in the microwave power demonstration between Maui and Hawaii?
A) 1 mile.
B) 1.6 km.
C) 10 km.
D) 92 miles.
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