Kalpana one

At 07:14 PM 5/1/2006, you wrote:

>I'm trying mightily to keep in mind one of the most important
>engineering principles: K.I.S.S. (keep it simple, stupid). Fight
>Murphy's Law with every fundamental assumption you make. (Not just
>idiot-proof, but Murphy or saboteur-proof as much as possible.) It's
>not easy.
>Are light conductors and separate mirrors simpler than a rectenna and
>electric lights (on Kalpana One)?
>Hmmm...

Separate, external mirrors introduces a lot of complexity. I don't like
them. If light pipes are to work, the simplest approach is to cover the
hull with collectors and pipe it into the colony. To decide if this is
better than solar cells (you'll need some of these anyway for emergency
power) will require a fairly detailed trade study (IMHO).