This paper discusses the development, deployment and operation of the optical waveguide (OW) solar thermal power system for In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) applications at the NASA ISRU analog test site on Mauna Kea, HI. In this solar thermal system, solar radiation is collected by the concentrator array which transfers the concentrated solar radiation to the OW transmission line made of low loss optical fibers. The OW transmission line directs the solar radiation to the place of utilization of the solar energy. In this paper applications of solar energy to sintering of native soil for surface stabilization and thermo-chemical processing of native soil for oxygen production are discussed.

Date Published: 21 September 2011
PDF: 13 pages
Proc. SPIE 8124, Nonimaging Optics: Efficient Design for Illumination and Solar Concentration VIII, 81240B (21 September 2011); doi: 10.1117/12.892810

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 8124:
Nonimaging Optics: Efficient Design for Illumination and Solar Concentration VIII
Roland Winston; Jeffrey M. Gordon, Editor(s)