Whatever happened to: Microwave powered aircraft?

Airborne craft powered by microwave beams from the earth's surface will never run out of fuel. Their route may be circumscribed by the pattern of the energizing beams, but they can stay aloft indefinitely. That fact makes microwave-powered aircraft attractive for surveillance, for relaying communication signals, and for atmospheric data gathering. Moreover, unburdened by a crushing weight of fuel, such aircraft would be able to lift vast payloads into the upper atmosphere for transfer to outer space.