Sol Dyson Cloud

Function

Stationary satellites with carbon sails use solar radiation to remain aloft. These sails are flat and rectangular. Stationary, these sails support panels that collect the power, and transformers to beam it to nearby relay stations. These platforms hover just above the cloud of collectors, transmitting the power to planets and other stations through a vast power relay network.

Power Distribution

High-power microwaves transmit the energy through a network of relay stations, positioned throughout the system and even beyond Neptune's orbit. Since power transmission relies on line of sight between one relay and another, the vast network assures power can flow to anywhere at any time. Planetary relay stations contain massive capacitors to ensure uninterrupted flow of power.

Maintenance

Despite painstaking calculations, fluctuations in solar output cause many of the collectors to change altitude by centimeters per year. Units below standard power output must be repaired or replaced. The computers that run the Sol Dyson Cloud lie in Mercury's orbit and maintain redundancy systems elsewhere.

With advancements in automation, normal upkeep is performed by the service drones. No man even calls Sol his home. Mercurian engineers fly in only when the automated control system is on the fritz.

Management

Heavy defense platforms keep the skies clear of any foreign object or would-be attacker. These periodic checkpoints also serve as workshops and storage space for the vast numbers of service drones commissioned to the cloud. Power relays and auto control systems also lie on these platforms, so any manned service mission to the cloud arrives at these places.

The workers, equipment and supplies for the Sol Dyson Cloud are all furnished by L-Solar. This corporation is partly responsible for the continual supply of power system wide. Their efforts are augmented by plentiful ISA auto defense systems, making power relay stations into sensor and weapons grids placed all over space.