Flywheels / NEO Retrieval

From: Bill [mailto:qwerty172@...]

The charged particles in the VAB are attarcted to the anodes and
cathodes of the solar cells. The result is a slow loss of capacity as
the particles dope the material and change its properties from a
semiconductor to a conductor short circuiting the the resulting
circuit.

I've heard it said that even if slowly spiraling up from the Earth on some
kind of electric, high-efficiency/low-thrust drive, it might be worthwhile
to bring along a small chemical rocket which can get you through the Van
Allen Belts more quickly.

This same effect will also affect SPS performance. It's been proposed that
at regular intervals SPS panels should undergo an annealing process to
repair cosmic ray damage. Fortunately, in that environment, it can be done
in-place with solar energy and a fresnel lens.

Regards,

Mike Combs

From:
Bill [mailto:qwerty172@...]
The charged particles in the VAB are attarcted to the anodes and
cathodes of the solar cells. The result is a slow loss of capacity as
the particles dope the material and change its properties from a
semiconductor to a conductor short circuiting the the resulting
circuit.

I've heard it said that even if slowly spiraling up from the Earth on some kind of electric, high-efficiency/low-thrust drive, it might be worthwhile to bring along a small chemical rocket which can get you through the Van Allen Belts more quickly.

This same effect will also affect SPS performance. It's been proposed that at regular intervals SPS panels should undergo an annealing process to repair cosmic ray damage. Fortunately, in that environment, it can be done in-place with solar energy and a fresnel lens.
Regards,
Mike Combs