THUNDERSTORM SOLAR
POWER SATELLITE- TSPS
POWER SATELLITE- TSPS
INTRODUCTION
A solar power satellite is a concept for placing large
arrays of solar cells on satellites and beaming the
electrical power to earth via microwaves, and
converting the microwaves to electrical power for
distribution.The Thunderstorm Solar Power Satellite
(TSPS) is a concept for also applying microwave
power beamed from solar power satellites to heat a
sensitive region of a mesocyclone and eliminate the
"hook echo" that is associated with the formation of
tornadoes. The hypothesis is that destabilization of
the sensitive region of the storm that leads to a
tornado can eliminate formation of the tornado.
A solar power satellite is a concept for placing large
arrays of solar cells on satellites and beaming the
electrical power to earth via microwaves, and
converting the microwaves to electrical power for
distribution.The Thunderstorm Solar Power Satellite
(TSPS) is a concept for also applying microwave
power beamed from solar power satellites to heat a
sensitive region of a mesocyclone and eliminate the
"hook echo" that is associated with the formation of
tornadoes. The hypothesis is that destabilization of
the sensitive region of the storm that leads to a
tornado can eliminate formation of the tornado.
EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY
The research into this concept by Dr. Bernard
Eastlund,was funded by a contract from the European
Space Agency and the work was presented at the
"Explospace Workshop" Space Exploration and
Resource Exploitation, WPP-151, Cagliari, Sardinia,
Italy, October 20-22, 1998
The research into this concept by Dr. Bernard
Eastlund,was funded by a contract from the European
Space Agency and the work was presented at the
"Explospace Workshop" Space Exploration and
Resource Exploitation, WPP-151, Cagliari, Sardinia,
Italy, October 20-22, 1998
TSPS DESCRIPTION
The figure shows a cross section diagram through a
mesocyclone supercell.The cold rainy downdraft is
hypothesized to contain the vorticity that migrates into
formation of a tornado. The concept of the TSPS is to
beam microwaves from a solar power satellite into that
region, heating it and destabilizing the vorticity.
The figure shows a cross section diagram through a
mesocyclone supercell.The cold rainy downdraft is
hypothesized to contain the vorticity that migrates into
formation of a tornado. The concept of the TSPS is to
beam microwaves from a solar power satellite into that
region, heating it and destabilizing the vorticity.
GLOBAL WARMING MITIGATION WITH
DUAL USE SOLAR POWER SATELLITES
THAT SUPPLY CLEAN ELECTRICAL
POWER WITHOUT CO2 AND ALSO
MITIGATE SEVERE WEATHER BY
ELIMINATING TORNADOES AND
POSSIBLY HELPING MITIGATE
HURRICANES
DUAL USE SOLAR POWER SATELLITES
THAT SUPPLY CLEAN ELECTRICAL
POWER WITHOUT CO2 AND ALSO
MITIGATE SEVERE WEATHER BY
ELIMINATING TORNADOES AND
POSSIBLY HELPING MITIGATE
HURRICANES
| SOLAR SATELLITE |
| MICROWAVE BEAM |
| COLD RAINY DOWNDRAFT |
This TSPS is conceived as a dual use facility that
demonstrates operational parameters as well as
advancing SSP technology development and
demonstration. Additional satellites provide more
power and capability for intervention operations.
NUMERICAL SIMULATION
Tornadogenesis is too complicated to be treated with
"back of the envelope" calculations. The ESA funded
use of a supercomputer based computer code, the
Advanced Regional Prediction System (ARPS) at the
University of Oklahoma. This code had been
previously used to simulate tornado formation. It could
simulate the development of a "hook echo" which is an
indicator of a tornado formation region that is found
using the WRS-88D Doppler weather radar. The code
was modified to include heating from a microwave
beam from a satellite. It is shown that the "hook echo"
was made to vanish, thus indicating the possibility that
tornadoes were eliminated.
SAFETY
The ESA paper describes the system and discusses
the important issues concerning safety, societal and
legal that would be necessary to ensure safe
development.. These concerns will continue to be
important in the refinement of the concept.
This proposed system is based on combining
state-of-the-art technologies of numerical weather
simulation, weather diagnostics, electromagnetic
generators, antenna systems, antenna control
systems, satellite design, and systems control. These
tools are now available to implement a new science of
severe-storm intervention.
demonstrates operational parameters as well as
advancing SSP technology development and
demonstration. Additional satellites provide more
power and capability for intervention operations.
NUMERICAL SIMULATION
Tornadogenesis is too complicated to be treated with
"back of the envelope" calculations. The ESA funded
use of a supercomputer based computer code, the
Advanced Regional Prediction System (ARPS) at the
University of Oklahoma. This code had been
previously used to simulate tornado formation. It could
simulate the development of a "hook echo" which is an
indicator of a tornado formation region that is found
using the WRS-88D Doppler weather radar. The code
was modified to include heating from a microwave
beam from a satellite. It is shown that the "hook echo"
was made to vanish, thus indicating the possibility that
tornadoes were eliminated.
SAFETY
The ESA paper describes the system and discusses
the important issues concerning safety, societal and
legal that would be necessary to ensure safe
development.. These concerns will continue to be
important in the refinement of the concept.
This proposed system is based on combining
state-of-the-art technologies of numerical weather
simulation, weather diagnostics, electromagnetic
generators, antenna systems, antenna control
systems, satellite design, and systems control. These
tools are now available to implement a new science of
severe-storm intervention.
OTHER REFERENCES
CAN IT WORK?
A paper regarding the system performance
requirements was presented at a joint NASA-FEMA
conference to obtain peer review of the practicality of
building such a system. In particular, it was important
to know if components of the storm as small as 50
meters could be measured with a satellite. Comments
at the conference indicated that it was possible to do
this.
"MESOCYCLONE DIAGNOSTIC REQUIREMENTS
FOR THUNDERSTORM SOLAR POWER SATELLITE
CONCEPT, Published in the Proceedings of "The
Second Conference on the Applications of Remote
Sensing and GIS for Disaster Management", January
19-21, 1999."
CAN IT WORK?
A paper regarding the system performance
requirements was presented at a joint NASA-FEMA
conference to obtain peer review of the practicality of
building such a system. In particular, it was important
to know if components of the storm as small as 50
meters could be measured with a satellite. Comments
at the conference indicated that it was possible to do
this.
"MESOCYCLONE DIAGNOSTIC REQUIREMENTS
FOR THUNDERSTORM SOLAR POWER SATELLITE
CONCEPT, Published in the Proceedings of "The
Second Conference on the Applications of Remote
Sensing and GIS for Disaster Management", January
19-21, 1999."
CONTINUED RESEARCH
Dr. Eastlund has collaborated with Lyle Jenkins, a former
NASA engineer to write a series of papers published by the
IEEE describing the systems, engineering and global
aspects of the TSPS concept.
Dr. Eastlund has collaborated with Lyle Jenkins, a former
NASA engineer to write a series of papers published by the
IEEE describing the systems, engineering and global
aspects of the TSPS concept.
PROPOSAL FOR FUTURE WORK
The capability of advanced numerical simulations has
improved by a factor of more than 10,000 since the TSPS
paper was written. Ming Xue, who helped modify the ARPS
code for the TSPS ESA paper has recently published
increasingly explicit simulations. We would like to team with
a university of corporation to use this code or codes like it,
to study the effect of microwave heating beams on
mesocyclones. We would also like to team with interested
individuals who would like to study the potential benefits of
a dual use solar satellite. We would also like to team with
individuals or institutions that would like to design a
feasibility experiment utilizing the solar panels on the
International Space Station as a power source to design a
demonstration before the U. S. Shuttle program is
terminated.
The capability of advanced numerical simulations has
improved by a factor of more than 10,000 since the TSPS
paper was written. Ming Xue, who helped modify the ARPS
code for the TSPS ESA paper has recently published
increasingly explicit simulations. We would like to team with
a university of corporation to use this code or codes like it,
to study the effect of microwave heating beams on
mesocyclones. We would also like to team with interested
individuals who would like to study the potential benefits of
a dual use solar satellite. We would also like to team with
individuals or institutions that would like to design a
feasibility experiment utilizing the solar panels on the
International Space Station as a power source to design a
demonstration before the U. S. Shuttle program is
terminated.
| NEW LAND BASED SYSTEM A new concept for a land based system in the MidWest based on the same physics of heating a cold rainy downdraft with microwaves is described on the TORNADOES page. |