Space-based solar power (SBSP) — reference architecture (expository)
- Parent: README.md
- Formal index: ../FORMAL_LEDGER.md
Status: Reference only. This monorepo does not implement orbital megastructures. The doc exists to separate physics-credible energy scaling from software-ledger claims.
Motivation
Terrestrial renewables compete for land and material cycles. Geostationary solar avoids nights and most weather for the collector; microwave or laser power transmission to rectennas is the classical architecture (dual-use and safety considerations dominate engineering).
Architecture blocks (high level)
- Orbit: GEO slot allocation, station-keeping propellant budget, debris compliance.
- Collector: PV or concentrator mass per kW, thermal management, pointing.
- Conversion & transmission: DC–RF, phased array beam forming, safety interlocks (beam wander, exclusion zones).
- Ground: rectenna farms, grid integration, capacity factor vs terrestrial.
- Manufacturing: launch cost per kg, in-orbit assembly vs single-shot heavy lift.
Honesty
- SBSP does not remove industrial process heat, cement, or aviation chemistry—only electricity substitution where applicable.
- Economics and weaponization of beams are first-order blockers; treat as parallel megaproject to formal verification work, not a dependency.
Relation to Gnosis
Expository link from FORMAL_LEDGER.md only—no lake build target.