The BR 10-032 "Biri" Power Transmission System is a prototype space-based solar power system designed by Mitsubishi Electric and Hyasoda Military Industries for the East Asian Federation. The space component of the system was launched on October 24, 2010, but its start of service was delayed to December 1, 2010, due to technical difficulties. The system has its origins in an AEXA program initiated in the late 1990s to develop space-based solar power as a more efficient means of generating electricity from solar power.

DesignEdit

The Power Transmission System consists of five ground-based receiving stations, in high-demand energy markets, the remote exurbs of Osaka, Seogyeong, Seoul, Taipei, and Tokyo, and the BR 10-032 solar conversion station, which uses twelve photovoltaic arrays to convert sunlight into electricity and a retargetable transmission array for transferring energy between the five receiving stations. The satellite is kept in a geosynchronous orbit above the East Sea, and the transmission array is realigned as demand requires.

The satellite itself is powered directly by solar energy collected by two of the solar arrays it consists of. The microwave transmitted by the satellite can be highly destructive is not aimed properly at a receiving station, with physical destruction and electromagnetic surges possible. For safety reasons, a parallel communications link is maintained between the receiving station and the BR 10-032 to ensure correct targeting. If the microwave beam and fail-safe beams are not being transmitted and received, respectively, at the same time, the satellite will stop transmitting electricity to the surface to prevent damage.

HistoryEdit

The Biri system was first used on a wide scale after the 2011 Sendai earthquake to aid in the power gap created by the forced shutdown and release incident at the North Tokai Fusion Power Plant. The ground receiver in Ibaraki Prefecture northeast of Tokyo relayed power to affected areas, reducing the effect of mandated rolling blackouts, and aiding rescue workers in aid operations in the Sendai area.