Abstract
Wikipedia overview of space-based solar power. Provides orientation on the standard reference designs (DOE/NASA 1979, NASA Fresh Look 1995-97, Mankins SPS-ALPHA NIAC 2011-12, ESA SOLARIS 2022, Caltech SSPD-1 2023). Standard mass-per-kW references collected here include "state of the art for flown spacecraft, which as of 2015 was 150 W/kg (6.7 kg/kW)" and the SPS-ALPHA target of ≤1 kg/kW under mass-production scaling. The page emphasizes that launch costs $100-200/kg are widely cited as the viability threshold. Tier E used for orientation only — Wikipedia is not cited as evidence in q6's final claims.
Key claims
- not-saved-tier-E
Reviewer notes
Tier E: orientation only, not cited as evidence per source-tiers.md. The Wikipedia article is useful as an entry point to the SBSP-ALPHA, NASA Fresh Look, and ESA SOLARIS reference designs, but the primary NASA NIAC report and NASA OTPS report are the source-review-eligible references for SBSP claims in q6.