940 HISTORY OF THE COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 



new Subcommittee on Energy. Energy from outer space was the theme 

 of the session over which Symington presided. He opened the hearing 

 with this comment: 



We have assembled a panel of three experts to discuss with us how satellites and 

 microwaves might be utilized to transmit or generate energy. 



He then introduced Dr. Peter Glaser, vice president and head of 

 engineering sciences of Arthur D. Little, Inc., and noted: 



He is a pioneer in discussing the concept of a satellite solar power station and 

 has recently directed a feasibility study of this concept for NASA with personnel 

 drawn from a four-company team. 



Dr. Krafft Ehricke, chief science adviser for Rockwell International 

 Corp., and Dr. Klaus P. Heiss, director of advanced technology 

 economics at Mathematica in Princeton, N.J., rounded out the panel. 

 Dr. Glaser in particular talked of a satellite power system which could 

 be developed in conjunction with the Space Shuttle. At that time, he 

 very modestly set a price tag for a 10-ycar technology verification 

 program at several hundred million to half a billion dollars— a figure 

 which dramatically increased as time went on. Brown immediately 

 grasped one of the problems, and observed: 



I recognize that we don't have too much information on the environmental 

 impact of this, and that this is one of the areas we need further information on. 



On February 20, 1976, in joint hearings of Fuqua's Space Science 

 and Applications Subcommittee and the McCormack subcommittee, 

 Dr. Glaser made a return presentation which was somewhat more 

 elaborate. He estimated the satellite itself would cost $20 billion, 

 it would take about $24 billion to develop the space transportation 

 system, and that building 60 solar satellite power stations over the 

 period 1995 to 2014 would defray the cost of the investment in 

 development. 



WE DONT KNOW WHO PAUL IS 



Staggered by the size of the investment, Goldwater wondered 

 whether $50 billion might not divert a big investment from the array 

 of other multi-billion-dollar energy projects needed to meet the 

 Nation's energy needs by the year 2000. As Goldwater put it: 



Are we not robbing Peter to pay Paul, and we do not know even who Paul is? 



Dr. Glaser handled that one by stating that the SSPS should be con- 

 sidered as one option which this country could weigh, among others. 

 The concept received a big boost from the committee in 1978; 

 three days of hearings were arranged, jointly between the Fuqua 

 and McCormack subcommittees on a bill principally sponsored by 

 Flippo. The Flippo bill, which was cosponsored by 21 other com- 



