Advanced Power Sources for Space Missions

"Star Wars"--as the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) is dubbed--will require reliable sources of immense amounts of energy to power such advanced weapons as lasers and particle beams. Are such power sources available? This study says no, not yet--and points the way toward the kind of energy research and development that is needed to power SDI. Advanced Power Sources for Space Missions presents a comprehensive and objective view of SDI's unprecedented power requirements and the opportunities we have to meet them in a cost-effective manner.