Ionosphere/microwave beam interaction study

The microwave beam of the Solar Power Satellite (SPS) is predicted to interact with the ionosphere producing thermal runaway up to an altitude of about 100 kilometers at a power density threshold of 12 mW/cm sq (within a factor of two). The operation of the SPS at two frequencies, 2450 and 5800 MHz, is compared. The ionosphere interaction is less at the higher frequency, but the tropospheric problem scattering from heavy rain and hail is worse at the higher frequency. Microwave signals from communication satellites were observed to scintillate, but there is some concern that the uplink pilot signal may be distorted by the SPS heated ionosphere. The microwave scintillations are only observed in the tropics in the early evenings near the equinoxes. Results indicate that large phase errors in the uplink pilot signal can be reduced.