🚀 go-pugleaf

> >(b) the powersat beam is there day and night and largely ignores clouds.)
> 
> There day and NIGHT?  Where does it get its night power (I am presuming
> a solar power source)?  It would have to be in a pretty durn high orbit
> ( :-), and synchronous orbits are kinda low, aren't they? ) for the earth
> not to block the sun from the powersat at night!

Clarke (geosynchronous) orbit is 40000 km up; for much of the year, the
tilt of the Earth's axis means that the Earth's shadow misses Clarke orbit
completely.  In spring and fall there will be a few weeks when there is
a short interruption in the power feed at local midnight, as the satellite
passes through the Earth's shadow.  This will need to be planned for, but
midnight is not a time of high power demand.  Otherwise, no problem.
-- 
				Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology
				{allegra,ihnp4,decvax,pyramid}!utzoo!henry