Earth-Moon L1

Well, that's quite a demo. If funds were available for it, then yes, it
could really open the lunar frontier in a major way.

But frankly, I'd settle for something much, much less in the near-term. If
there were a small but growing research base at Malapert Mountain that
"lived off the land" in the sense of providing its own radiation
shielding, its own oxygen for refueling of descent/ascent craft, and
providing for a few other mass-intensive needs with local resources, then
I'd be a happy camper. If small robotic factories for producing
low-grade solar cells arrived at Malapert Mountain 5 years before the
first human, that'd be o'k with me too.

Dream big or dream small. I guess I'm dreaming small.

Ron

charles radley cfrjlr@...
12/19/02 11:38 AM

> Charles:
>
> Are you saying that for an "L1 SPS demo" we must
> construct a rectenna at least "a few km diameter" on
> the surface

Yes.

> of the Moon? What area of solar PV cells at
> Earth-Moon L1 are you
> suggesting for this L1 SPS demo? Would all of

About 5 times the area of the rectenna.

> this equipment be
> launched from Earth?
>

For the first one, yes.

This SPS will turn an energy starved Moon base into an
energy rich moonbase. This gives us lots of power for
mass drivers, lunar material processing, oxygen
generation, etc.

It take many decades, maybe centuries to achieve the
same level of development by bootstrapping from small
beginnings.

With an SPS at L-1 we can get to a highly developed
Moon in a few years.