Commission on Engineering and Technical Systems & Committee on Advanced Space Based High Power Technologies 
Advanced Power Sources for Space Missions [PDF ebook] 

"Star Wars"as the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) is dubbedwill 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 yetand 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.