Get Involved

SBSP Needs Your Help

Space-Based Solar Power (SBSP) has been an unintentionally well-kept secret for more than fifty years. In light of recent advances in mass production, advanced materials, and commercial space launch, the growing community of government, industry, and citizen SBSP advocates needs your help to bring this idea for a clean, constant, and global energy source to the nation, and to the rest of the world.

In March of 2016 at the D3 (Diplomacy, Defense, Development) Summit, a multi-agency industry team of SBSP advocates presented the D3 Space Solar Proposal (D3SSP) entitled “Carbon-Free Energy for Global Resilience and International Goodwill.” The D3SSP Team proposed that “We [U.S.] want to be the power leading our allies in supplying clean power to the developing world … ” and “The US can advance its narrative power in the near-term, and actual economic development and security power in the long-run, by leading the development of SBSP.“

Back in 2007, the NSSO study, “Space-Based Solar Power as an Opportunity for Strategic Security” recommended “that the U.S. Government should organize effectively to allow for the development of SBSP … “.

Educate Yourself About SBSP

Read the D3SSP proposal and the NSSO study. Use the references and resources on this website to learn more about this game-changing technology. Starting with the Links page, do your own research.

If you reach the conclusion that Space-Based Solar Power has the potential to make an important and positive difference for future generations in the U.S. and abroad, get involved. Inform others about SBSP, and ask them to get involved. Help guide government and industry leaders to the same conclusion. They are in positions to take the actions needed to bring SBSP into being on national and global scales.

Get the SBSP Word Out

Talk about SBSP with your family and your neighbors. Phone your friends. Write your congressional representatives. Alert the media. Put a sign in your yard. E-mail an associate. Create and distribute SBSP flyers. Text your young adult children. Speak to local schools and civic organizations. Instant message a co-worker. Post a status update or comment on a blog entry. Produce a video. Call a radio talk show.

Listed below are some specific suggestions and links for getting the word out on SBSP, along with a starter message so you don’t have to start with a blank sheet of paper. Ultimately, a call to action for SBSP support must be communicated to government and industry leaders and decision-makers.

Audiences for an SBSP Call to Action

Personal Contacts

Make SBSP part of the conversation with the people closest to you. Ask them to learn more, and to help get the word out. Send a hand written letter or an e-mail. Add a link for an SBSP website (like C-SBSP) to your e-mail signature, to your website or blogroll.

Print Media

Contact your local newspaper or a nationally syndicated one, or several of them, and ask them to publish information about SBSP. Write a Letter to the Editor, submit an opinion piece for the Opinion Editorial column, or contact a publisher or columnist directly. Many major newspapers accept submissions and comments electronically. Explore the sections on the economy, the environment, national security, and science and technology.

Broadcast Media

Contact your favorite local TV or radio station or a nationally syndicated one, or several of them, and ask them to talk about SBSP on the air. Call in to one of the many radio talk shows and discuss SBSP with the host of the show. Have the main points you want to make ready. Also, suggest or request the production of a special on SBSP for broadcast and re-broadcast. An hour long SBSP special aired on a major national station would reach millions of people.

Organizations – Local, State, National

Many organizations share values on which SBSP would have a major, positive impact. Concern for the future of our children, the long-term health of our environment, strong national economies, and universal availability of clean, affordable, and sustainable energy are just a few of these shared values. Here are just a few examples:

  • Kiwanis International
  • The Sierra Club
  • Rotary International
  • Rocky Mountain Institute

Private Sector  / Industry

Many companies share similar values to those listed under Organizations. Many of these companies also have the resources, technologies, and profit motives to want to be a part of a U.S. led effort to develop and deploy SBSP. The latest Boeing advertisement, “You Just Wait,” provides a glimpse into a future that includes SBSP, when ” … solar satellites provide Earth with unlimited, clean power.” Here are just a few of those companies in the U.S.:

  • Blue Origin
  • Bigelow Aerospace
  • Boeing
  • Lockheed Martin
  • Northrop Grumman
  • Orbital Sciences
  • Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX)
  • Virgin Galactic

U.S. Government

Space-Based Solar Power will have far-reaching impacts on energy independence, economics, and national security. At all levels of government, there are many elected and appointed officials that can and should also be asked to promote active public sector – private sector action and cooperation on the development and deployment of SBSP. Here are some resources for contacting government officials, cabinet members, and agencies:

Elected Officials
Cabinet and Cabinet-Rank Departments
U.S. Government Departments, Agencies, and Military Branches

Starter Messages

The best way to have your voice heard is through your own original correspondence, but it’s challenging to start with a blank sheet of paper. Listed below is a starter message and other resources you may use to contact individuals and organizations and to call them to action in support of SBSP.

The Problem Statement and Solution Suggestion are common to each of your audiences, but the Call to Action is tailored for each audience. You may use this starter message in its original form, or as a starting point to express your own opinions about the call to action to support SBSP.

  1. Copy the starter message template from between the black lines below.
  2. Paste the template into your own e-mail or word processor program.
  3. Replace or delete all of the instructions in [brackets] as needed.
  4. Check the links to make sure they work before sending your message. If they don’t, each plain text link in the starter message is provided under Additional Resources below.
  5. Keep copies of your sent messages, and use them to send to others.
  6. Put a note on your calendar to follow up (thank, express concern, etc.) with those you’ve called to action to support SBSP.

 

[Subject line for e-mail] Space Based Solar Power is Our Planet’s Clean Energy Future

[Insert salutation here]

America’s current and future way of life requires an unbroken supply of affordable and abundant clean energy. Dependence on foreign energy is used against our nation, weakening our security, and manipulating our economy. The burning of fossil fuels negatively affects our environment. These non-renewable energy sources will be eventually be unavailable for future generations. Energy independence as a national goal must be strongly stated, and a plan to achieve it must be clearly defined.

Space-Based Solar Power (SBSP), the harvesting of virtually unlimited solar energy with orbiting collectors and beaming it to earth for distribution and use in the form of electricity, is a game-changing idea that has the potential to lead our nation to energy independence, and to allow our nation to provide energy to the developing world.

In March of 2016 at the D3 (Diplomacy, Defense, Development) Summit, a multi-agency industry team of SBSP advocates presented the D3 Space Solar Proposal (D3SSP) entitled “Carbon-Free Energy for Global Resilience and International Goodwill.” The D3SSP Team proposed that “We [U.S.] want to be the power leading our allies in supplying clean power to the developing world … ” and “The US can advance its narrative power in the near-term, and actual economic development and security power in the long-run, by leading the development of SBSP.” In 2007, the NSSO study, “Space-Based Solar Power as an Opportunity for Strategic Security” recommended “that the U.S. Government should organize effectively to allow for the development of SBSP … “.

While SBSP is a complex engineering challenge, it does not require any scientific breakthroughs to become a reality. The plan to achieve energy independence will include many technical, economic, and political challenges. To make SBSP a reality, it must first be introduced to a very large number of concerned citizens. Then they can get involved and help get the word out about SBSP.

[Insert the appropriate Call to Action from the list below here]

The website Citizens for Space Based Solar Power offers resources to learn more about SBSP, and help to get started getting the word out. Your actions can and will make a positive difference for us, and for future generations in America and worldwide.

[Insert closing here]
[Insert your name here]
[Insert your address and other contact information here]

 

Call to Action – Personal Contacts

  1. Please pass this message along to your family members and friends.
  2. I also invite you to contact the leaders and decision-makers in the media, in local organizations, in private sector industries, and in the U.S. government at all levels, and personally call them to action in support of Space Based Solar Power.
  3. Most importantly, I urge you to actively support the award-winning D3 Space Solar Proposal, Carbon-Free Energy for Global Resilience and International Goodwill, which lays out an achievable and comprehensive plan for the United States to start and lead a national Space Based Solar Power program.

Call to Action – Media

  1. Please pass this message along to your colleagues, producers and corporate leaders.
  2. I also invite you to discuss, in the media, SBSP and its potential to lead the way to energy independence. Consider producing a special or series of broadcasts focusing on SBSP. Your platform and support can and will influence the development and deployment of SBSP.
  3. Most importantly, I urge you to actively support the award-winning D3 Space Solar Proposal, Carbon-Free Energy for Global Resilience and International Goodwill, which lays out an achievable and comprehensive plan for the United States to start and lead a national Space Based Solar Power program.

Call to Action – Organizations

  1. Please pass this message along to your organization’s members, and to your local and national leaders.
  2. I also invite you help get the word out about SBSP through your organization’s communication network, and to consider making support for SBSP a part of your organization’s mission, vision statement, or charter.
  3. Most importantly, I urge you to actively support the award-winning D3 Space Solar Proposal, Carbon-Free Energy for Global Resilience and International Goodwill, which lays out an achievable and comprehensive plan for the United States to start and lead a national Space Based Solar Power program.

Call to Action – Private Sector / Industry

  1. Please pass this message along to your company’s leadership teams, employees, partners, and suppliers.
  2. I also invite you to consider if your company’s mission, vision, technical capabilities, and financial goals would be complemented by participating in the development of SBSP. If so, please commit the necessary resources to become an industry leader in the development and deployment of SBSP.
  3. Most importantly, I urge you to actively support the award-winning D3 Space Solar Proposal, Carbon-Free Energy for Global Resilience and International Goodwill, which lays out an achievable and comprehensive plan for the United States to start and lead a national Space Based Solar Power program.

Call to Action – Government Officials

  1. Please pass this message along to those in other leadership positions, to your colleagues, and to the appropriate committees, agencies, and service branches.
  2. I also invite you to use the power of your office and your personal influence to support the development and deployment of SBSP.
  3. Most importantly, I urge you to actively support the award-winning D3 Space Solar Proposal, Carbon-Free Energy for Global Resilience and International Goodwill, which lays out an achievable and comprehensive plan for the United States to start and lead a national Space Based Solar Power program.

Additional SBSP Messaging Resources

Starter Message Links in Plain Text Format

The 2016 D3 Space Solar Proposal:
http://d3ssp.org/

The 2007 NSSO report on SBSP:

Click to access SBSPInterimAssesment0.1.pdf

The Citizens for Space-Based Solar Power website:
https://c-sbsp.org/

Starting with a Blank Sheet of Paper

Generally, any message should address the intended recipient (Dear Mr. President: etc.), be well written on no longer than a single page, and include the three main themes listed below. The tone should always be respectful and positive. The UC-Berkeley Library also has some great tips for addressing and contacting elected officials.

Here are suggested topics for inclusion:

Problem Statement

Some examples would include the negative effects of dependence on foreign energy sources, impacts of fossil fuels on the environment, energy shortages as threats to the economy and national security, and the eventual exhaustion of fossil fuel supplies.

Solution Suggestion

For example, “As stated in the recent the D3 Space Solar Proposal (D3SSP) entitled Carbon-Free Energy for Global Resilience and International Goodwill, “The US can advance its narrative power in the near-term, and actual economic development and security power in the long-run, by leading the development of SBSP.” As an unlimited source of clean, environmentally friendly energy, SBSP has the potential to be a game-changing technology.

Action Request

Actions to request would include visiting the Citizens for Space Based Solar Power website, reading and supporting the recent D3 Space Solar Proposal (D3SSP), reading the 2007 NSSO study, passing the information along to friends and colleagues, and taking action in their official capacity to promote and support the development of Space Based Solar Power.

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