September 9, 2016

Colloquium Topic: The Opportunity of Space Solar

APL and the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) have a strong heritage of turning visionary ideas into reality: GPS and Operationally Responsive Space are just two space examples that have roots in both organizations. Today, a confluence of advances at NRL and elsewhere present an unprecedented opportunity for our nation to take the lead in a potentially revolutionary technology: Space Solar. As recognized in NRL’s acclaimed 2009 report, collecting sunlight in space and sending it wirelessly to the earth presents a compelling capability for military energy resupply and other applications. This concept has gained recent attention as a winner in SecDef Carter’s recent Defense, Diplomacy, and Development (D3) Innovation Summit Pitch Challenge. In this talk, Dr. Jaffe will present the 7-minute pitch from the D3 Finals and will also delve more deeply into technical and programmatic aspects of space solar.

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Colloquium Speaker: Paul Jaffe

Dr. Paul Jaffe is an electronics engineer, researcher, and integration and testing section head at NRL.  He has worked on over a dozen NASA, NOAA, DARPA, Air Force, and other sponsor space missions, including SSULI, STEREO, TacSat-1, TacSat-4, MIS, CARINA, and GEO Robotics.  He led spacecraft computer hardware development and developed standards as part of the Department of Defense’s Operationally Responsive Space effort. He served as a coordinator and editor of NRL’s Space Solar Power study report and was the principal investigator for a ground-breaking space solar-related research effort.