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We are a team of senior managers and technologists with directly relevant experience who believe that space-based solar power can solve the problem of bringing clean, affordable energy to people anywhere on Earth or in space. We have joined together to make the case that the United States must not fall farther behind in the international race to develop Space-Based Solar Power that is now under way (including Japan, China, India and the European Union). When electricity supersedes petroleum, will we be forced to replace imported oil with imported power from satellites owned by other nations, or will we become an energy-exporting nation again?
We welcome opportunities to discuss these issues with diverse audiences and to offer expertise, information, decision support and research to policy makers, business leaders, technologists, power providers and consumers. Our objective is to accelerate the pace of implementation of this essential technology by providing interactive, substantive briefings that clarify technical and commercial feasibility as well as political goals and constraints. Please contact us to explore further engagement.
Chairman: Philip K. Chapman, Sc.D.
Phil Chapman is a geophysicist and astronautical engineer who served as a NASA scientist astronaut during the Apollo Program. He worked with Dr. Peter Glaser, inventor of the Solar Power Satellite, on the original NASA/DOE SPS Concept Development and Evaluation Program (CDEP). Dr. Chapman was President of the L5 Society (now the National Space Society) during the successful effort to block the U.S. Senate's ratification of the Moon Treaty which would have severely handicapped commercial ventures in space. His research interests span technical, business and policy issues, and include energy and environmental policy, lunar transportation systems and economical launch vehicles, as well as continuing development of the Space-Based Solar Power concept.
Hu Davis was a manager of Apollo spacecraft power and propulsion systems at NASA Johnson Space Center, and also managed assembly and checkout of four Lunar Modules (including LM-5, the Apollo 11 lunar landing vehicle). After Apollo, he served as JSC Future Programs manager. working on the Inertial Upper Stage and Shuttle C Heavy Lift vehicles. After Peter Glaser introduced him to the SPS, he was responsible for NASA's involvement with the DOE in the CDEP and was a major contributor to that study. He remains a strong supporter, working on several concepts for economical launch to orbit that can make Space-Based Solar Power competitive with terrestrial sources of energy.
Richard Dickinson is an international expert on wireless power transmission (WPT), having worked for Cal Tech's Jet Propulsion Laboratory on the antennas and transmitters for Mariners, Voyagers and the Mars Pathfinder Programs, and as supervisor of the High Power Transmitter Group at Goldstone for NASA's Deep Space Network. He was Project Engineer for demonstrating the recovery of 34kW of DC power at a mile range for NASA's investigation of WPT for SPS. He retired in 2001, after 38 years at JPL, to run his company, OFF EARTH-WPT. He is now a member of the Technical Advisory Board of Space Energy, Inc., consulting on Space-Based Solar Power.
General Freytag has in-depth military and civilian experience directing R&D and acquisition processes for ground, air and space systems from concept definition, through full-scale engineering development, test, production and deployment. He was a member of the National Reconnaissance Organization (NRO), participating in the development and operations of numerous space missions. He also served as the Program Director for the Defense Satellite Communication System and later as the Managing Director for the maintenance of several on-orbit operational communications satellites. As Commander of the Wright Aeronautical Laboratories at Wright-Patterson AFB, General Freytag directed the activities of 2700 scientists supporting the Flight Dynamics, Avionics, Materials and Jet Engine Laboratories.
His private sector experience includes serving as Director of Programs, Rockwell International, Executive Vice President, TransWorld Communications and Technical Vice President, WebLink Wireless Inc.
Feng Hsu is Senior Vice President of the Space Energy Group, working on early deployment of Space-Based Solar Power. He has extensive experience in the fields of risk assessment, risk-based decision making, safety and reliability and mission assurance, first at Brookhaven National Laboratory and then as a senior engineer/scientist in the Shuttle and Exploration Analysis Department at Johnson Space Center. More recently, he headed the risk management function at NASA Goddard Spaceflight Center and led the NASA-MIT joint project for risk-informed decision-making support on key NASA programs. He has served on many Agency and Center expert panels including key roles in the STS-107 (Space Shuttle Columbia) investigation team, the Return to Flight team, and the ECO expert team for the Discovery mission.
Lt. General Dirk Jameson retired from the U.S. Air Force in 1996 with 34 years' service. General Jameson commanded the 14,500 men and women of the U.S. 20th Air Force and was responsible for the U.S. Intercontinental Ballistic Missile force. General Jameson also served as Deputy Commander-in-Chief U.S. Strategic Command and commanded the USAF Strategic Missile Center at Vandenberg AFB, California. After retiring from the Air Force, General Jameson served as President of Arrowsmith Technologies, Inc., a software development company; Vice President of Alliant Techsystems, Inc., a large aerospace contractor; President and CEO of Starcraft Boosters, Inc.; Executive Director of the Texas Telecommunications Infrastructure Fund and Chief Operating Officer of Excalibur Almaz, Ltd. General Jameson is a member of the Air Force Academy Board of Visitors. General Jameson received his undergraduate degree in Business Management from the University of Puget Sound, an MBA in Business Management from Ohio State University, and completed the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Business Program for Senior Executives. General Jameson graduated from the National War College and attended the Harvard University Kennedy School National Security Program for Senior Executives. .
Ralph Nansen developed the initial configuration for Boeing's successful bid to build the Saturn S-1C, the first stage of the rocket that took men to the Moon. After Apollo, he was Design Manager for Boeing's Space Shuttle definition studies, and then Solar Power Satellite Program Manager for Boeing's contribution to the CDEP. Since then, he has become a well-known advocate for Space-Based Solar Power, testifying before Congressional committees, publishing many articles and representing Boeing at major space-related events. He has published two books on the subject (Sun Power: The Global Solution for the Coming Energy Crisis, Ocean Press, 1995; and Energy Crisis: Solution from Space, Apogee Books, 2009). After retiring from Boeing, he founded and is now the President of Solar Space Industries.
Ted Talay is the former head of the Vehicle Analysis Branch at NASA Langley Research Center, where he was responsible for partially and fully reusable launch vehicle systems including two-stage-to-orbit (Shuttle II) and crew transfer vehicle systems (HL-20). At Buzz Aldrin's Starcraft Boosters Inc., he worked on the StarBooster launch systems including Air Force rapid response using glideback boosters. He now works with John Frassanito & Associates in the areas of Shuttle-derived Heavy Lift and technology assessments of future in-space systems. He is the author or coauthor of more than 75 publications and has received many NASA group achievement and special achievement awards.