A Lightweight Space-based Solar Power Generation and Transmission Satellite
Behrooz Abiri, Manan Arya, Florian Bohn, Austin Fikes, Matan, Gal-Katziri, Eleftherios Gdoutos, Ashish Goel, Pilar Espinet Gonzalez,, Michael Kelzenberg, Nicolas Lee, Michael A. Marshall, Tatiana Roy, Fabien, Royer, Emily C. Warmann, Nina Vaidya, Tatiana Vinogradova

TL;DR
This paper introduces a lightweight, modular space-based solar power satellite with integrated power beaming, achieving high efficiency and low mass, enabling scalable deployment for space-to-Earth power transmission.
Contribution
It presents a novel, fully electronic beam steering, lightweight satellite design with modular tiles, high efficiency, and scalable architecture for space-based solar power.
Findings
Achieves an areal mass density of 160 g/m2.
End-to-end efficiency of 7-14%.
Design is safe, scalable, and deployable starting from a single unit.
Abstract
We propose a novel design for a lightweight, high-performance space-based solar power array combined with power beaming capability for operation in geosynchronous orbit and transmission of power to Earth. We use a modular configuration of small, repeatable unit cells, called tiles, that each individually perform power collection, conversion, and transmission. Sunlight is collected via lightweight parabolic concentrators and converted to DC electric power with high efficiency III-V photovoltaics. Several CMOS integrated circuits within each tile generates and controls the phase of multiple independently-controlled microwave sources using the DC power. These sources are coupled to multiple radiating antennas which act as elements of a large phased array to beam the RF power to Earth. The power is sent to Earth at a frequency chosen in the range of 1-10 GHz and collected with ground-based…
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Taxonomy
TopicsEnergy Harvesting in Wireless Networks · solar cell performance optimization · Satellite Communication Systems
