Introduction

The Solar Power Satellite (or "Space Solar Power," SPS) is a concept to collect solar power in space,
and then transport it to the surface of the Earth by microwave beam, where it is converted into
electrical power for terrestrial use. In space, collection of the Sun's energy is unaffected by the
day/night cycle, weather, seasons, or the filtering effect of Earth's atmospheric gases. Average
solar energy per unit area outside Earth's atmosphere is on the order of ten times that
available on Earth's surface.

The collection of solar energy in space for use on Earth introduces the new problem of
transmitting energy from the collection point, in space, to the place where the energy would
be used, on Earth's surface. Since wires extending from Earth's surface to an orbiting satellite
would be impractical, many SPS designs have proposed the use of microwave beams to
transmit power wirelessly. The collecting satellite would convert solar energy into electrical
energy, which would then be used to power a microwave emitter directed at a collector on the
Earth's surface. Dynamic solar thermal power systems are also being investigated.

Many problems normally associated with solar power collection would be eliminated by such
a design, such as the high sensitivity of conventional surface solar panels to corrosion and
weather, and the resulting maintenance costs. Other problems may take their place though,
such as cumulative radiation damage or micrometeoroid impacts.

Producing electricity from sunlight in space is not a new or untried technology. Many space
faring craft are covered in solar cells, such as rovers and shuttles, and hundreds of operating
satellites use solar energy as their main source of power. What has never been tried before is
transmitting that power back to Earth for our use.

Being a clean and safe energy design, space-based solar power has the potential to play a
significant role in solving global energy and environmental problems. It utilizes space outside
of Earth's ecological system, and may essentially produce no by-products.

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 History

The SPS concept, originally known as Satellite Solar Power System ("SSPS") was first
described in November 1968. In 1973 Peter Glaser was granted U.S. patent number
3,781,647 for his method of transmitting power over long distances (e g from an SPS to the
Earth's surface) using microwaves from a very large (up to one square kilometer) antenna on
the satellite to a much larger one on the ground, now known as a rectenna.

Glaser then worked at Arthur D. Little, Inc., as a vice-president. NASA signed a contract
with ADL to lead four other companies in a broader study in 1974. They found that, while the
concept had several major problems -- chiefly the expense of putting the required materials in
orbit and the lack of experience on projects of this scale in space, it showed enough promise
to merit further investigation and research.

Between 1978 and 1981 the US Congress authorized DOE and NASA to jointly investigate.
They organized the Satellite Power System Concept Development and Evaluation Program.
The study remains the most extensive performed to date. Several reports were published
investigating possible problems with such an engineering project. They include:

• Resource Requirements (Critical Materials, Energy, and Land)

• Financial/Management Scenarios
• Public Acceptance
• State and Local Regulations as Applied to Satellite Power System Microwave
Receiving Antenna Facilities
• Centralization/Decentralization
• Mapping of Exclusion Areas For Rectenna Sites
• Economic and Demographic Issues Related to Deployment
• Meteorological Effects on Laser Beam Propagation and Direct Solar Pumped Lasers
• Power Transmission and Reception Technical Summary and Assessment
• Space Transportation

The Office of Technology Assessment concluded

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Too little is currently known about the technical, economic, and environmental aspects of
SPS to make a sound decision whether to proceed with its development and deployment. In
addition, without further research an SPS demonstration or systems-engineering verification
program would be a high-risk venture.

More recently, the SPS concept has again become interesting, due to increased energy
demand, increased energy costs, and emission implications.

SERT

In 1999 NASA's Space Solar Power Exploratory Research and Technology program (SERT)
was initiated for the following purpose:

• Evaluate studies of the general feasibility, design, and requirements.

• Create conceptual designs of subsystems that make use of advanced SSP technologies
to benefit future space or terrestrial applications.
• Formulate a preliminary plan of action for the U.S. (working with international
partners) to undertake an aggressive technology initiative.
• Construct technology development and demonstration roadmaps for critical Space
Solar Power (SSP) elements.

It was to develop a solar power satellite (SPS) concept for a future gigawatt space power
systems to provide electrical power by converting the Sun’s energy and beaming it to the
Earth's surface. Subject to studies it proposed an inflatable photovoltaic gossamer structure
with concentrator lenses or solar dynamic engines to convert solar flux into electricity.

Some of SERT's conclusions include the following:

• The environmental impact of conventional power plants and their impact on world
energy supplies and geopolitical relationships can be problematic.
• Renewable energy is a compelling approach, both philosophically and in engineering
terms.
• Space solar power systems appear to possess many significant environmental
advantages when compared to alternative approaches.

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 Design

Space-based solar power essentially consists of three parts :

1. a means of collecting solar power in space, for example via solar cells or a heat
engine
2. a means of transmitting power to earth, for example via microwave or laser
3. a means of receiving power on earth, for example via a microwave antennas
(rectenna)

The space-based portion will be in a freefall, vacuum environment and will not need to
support itself against gravity other than relatively weak tidal stresses. It needs no protection
from terrestrial wind or weather, but will have to cope with space-based hazards such as
micrometeorites and solar storms. The reason that the SPS must be so large has to do with the
physics of power beaming. The smaller the transmitter array, the larger the angle of
divergence of the transmitted beam.

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Supersynchronous Solar Power Satellite :

It is proposed here to analyze a solar power satellite put into a completely different orbit, the
Earth-sun L-2 halo orbit. The location of the Earth-sun L2, and a typical halo orbit around it.
This is referred to as a super synchronous" location for a solar power satellite, since it is
located beyond synchronous orbit. While the halo orbits around the lagrangian points are
slightly unstable, the instability is so weak that several space probes have used the L1 halo
orbit for operational use, with only minimal amounts of propellant needed to keep them in
position. At first consideration, it would seem that the Earth-sun L2 point is a poor choice for
a space solar power system transmitter. At a distance of point 1.5 million kilometers from the
Earth, it will be forty times further away from the Earth than a satellite placed in
geosynchronous orbit. However, it turns out that this orbit allows design simplifications to
the satellite solar power design that more than compensate
for this disadvantage. Thus, it is perfectly suited to fill in night power to solar arrays which
receive solar power during the daytime. This allows a ground-based solar array field to be
"upgraded" to a 24-hour power source, and hence, by upgrading the status of the power from
"intermittent" to "baseload," increases the selling price of the power from low intermittent
power levels, to higher baseload power levels.
Design Details: Since the sun and Earth are nearly the same direction, it can feature:
 Integrated solar concentrator dish/microwave transmission dish
 Integrated solar cell/solid state transmitters
 No rotating parts or slip-rings
Frequency: 30 GHz
 transmitter diameter: 3 km
 receiver diameter: 6 km

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  3 ground sites, receive 8 hours per day
Total Mass 1,300 tonnes
At assumed transmitter efficiency 33% (today’s technology): 1 GW power output
At assumed transmitter efficiency 67% (future technology): 2 GW power output.

Fixed Geosynchronous Solar Power Satellite :

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While the size and the electrical generation profile with the Earth-sun L2 solar power satellite
make it a poor choice for a financially successful design, one aspect of the design remains
extremely attractive: the absence of a rotary joint makes the L2 solar power satellite a design
with no moving parts. The baseline figure of merit for this design was to examine how the
power production profile fits with the demand (and price) profile for terrestrial electrical
power ,assuming that the power is to "fill in" for a ground solar power system.
The satellite designed with the same design criteria: maximum simplicity; no moving parts;
mission is to power when ground solar power is not available. A fixed microwave transmitter
is permanently mounted on a bifacial solar array, which can be illuminated from either side.
Figures shows that this concept produces maximum power at dawn and at dusk, with zero
power production at noon and at midnight.
By employing a fixed transmitter attached to the solar array, the power management and
distribution system size can be greatly simplified and reduced in mass. The difficulties
associated with power transfer from the array to the transmitter are minimized, and the mass
and cost of the SPS are reduced. The new SPS needs only gravity-gradient stabilization to
ensure that the transmitter remains pointed to the rectenna site on the Earth.

Fixed Design with integrated microwave transmitter:

If the design constraint of a single array is relaxed, two arrays can be base lined, and
the arrays can be tilted outward to accommodate the actual demand peak (after subtraction of
solar) at 8 AM and 4 PM .With the addition of tilt, it is no longer true that the microwave
beam is perpendicular to the solar arrays. The backside of each solar array is in the view of
the Earth. A significant difficulty of the earlier design is the fact that the initial size of the
system requires an extremely high initial investment. The redesign of the solar power satellite
opens the possibility of integrating the solar array directly to the microwave transmission. By
placing solid-state microwave transmitters directly on the back of the solar array, power
management and distribution, as well as all voltage conversion, is eliminated.
Figure shows the conceptual design for a satellite to deliver maximum power at 8
AM and 4 PM, where the back side of each array is an integrated microwave transmitter. The
advantages of integration of the solar arrays and the transmitter are discussed in reference
and by integrating solar array with the microwave transmitter, the transmitter aperture
becomes as large as the solar array area. This results in a narrower beam. A narrow beam
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allows smaller rectenna areas, thereby permitting much smaller solar power satellites. The
smaller scale reduces the initial capital investment.

V-shaped fixed orientation solar power satellite to provide fill-in power for a ground solar installation

Solar energy conversion (solar photons to DC current)

Two basic methods of converting sunlight to electricity have been studied: photovoltaic (PV)
conversion, and solar dynamic (SD) conversion.

Most analyses of solar power satellites have focused on photovoltaic conversion (commonly
known as “solar cells”). Photovoltaic conversion uses semiconductor cells (e.g., silicon or
gallium arsenide) to directly convert photons into electrical power via a quantum mechanical
mechanism. Photovoltaic cells are not perfect in practice, as material purity and processing
issues during production affect performance; each has been progressively improved for some
decades. Some new, thin-film approaches are less efficient (about 20% vs. 35% for best in
class in each case), but are much less expensive and generally lighter. In an SPS
implementation, photovoltaic cells will likely be rather different from the glass-pane
protected solar cell panels familiar to many from current terrestrial use, since they will be

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optimized for weight, and will be designed to be tolerant to the space radiation environment,
but will not need to be encapsulated against corrosion by the elements. They may not require
the structural support required for terrestrial use, where the considerable gravity loading
imposes structural requirements on terrestrial implementations.

Wireless power transmission to the Earth

Wireless power transmission was early proposed to transfer energy from collection to the
Earth's surface. The power could be transmitted as either microwave or laser radiation at a
variety of frequencies depending on system design. Whatever choice is made, the
transmitting radiation would have to be non-ionizing to avoid potential disturbances either
ecologically or biologically if it is to reach the Earth's surface. This established an upper
bound for the frequency used, as energy per photon, and so the ability to cause ionization,
increases with frequency. Ionization of biological materials doesn't begin until ultraviolet or
higher frequencies so most radio frequencies will be acceptable for this.

To minimize the sizes of the antennas used, the wavelength should be small since antenna
efficiency increases as antenna size increases relative to the wavelength used. More precisely,
both for the transmitting and receiving antennas, the angular beam width is inversely
proportional to the aperture of the antenna, measured in units of the transmission wavelength.

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The highest frequencies that can be used are limited by atmospheric absorption (chiefly water
vapor and CO2) at higher microwave frequencies.

Conceptual model for a WPT system annexed to a grid.

The 50 Hz ac power tapped from the grid lines is stepped down to a suitable voltage level for
rectification into dc. This is supplied to an oscillator fed magnetron. The microwave power
output of the magnetron is channeled into an array of parabolic reflector antennas for
transmission to the receiving end antennas. To compensate for the large loss in free space
propagation and boost at the receiving end the signal strength as well as the conversion
efficiency, the antennas are connected in arrays. A series parallel assembly of schottky
diodes, having a low standing power rating but good RF characteristics is used at the
receiving end to rectify the received microwave power back into dc. Inverter is used to invert
the dc power into ac.A simple radio control feedback system operating in FM band provides
an appropriate control signal to the magnetron for adjusting its output level with fluctuation
in the consumers demand at the receiving side.

Spacecraft sizing

The size of an SPS will be dominated by two factors. The size of the collecting apparatus (eg,
panels, mirrors, etc) and the size of the transmitting antenna which in part depends on the

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distance to the receiving antenna. The distance from Earth to geostationary orbit (22,300
miles, 35,700 km), the chosen wavelength of the microwaves, and the laws of physics,
specifically the Rayleigh Criterion or Diffraction limit, used in standard RF (Radio
Frequency) antenna design will all be factors.

It has been suggested that, for best efficiency, the satellite antenna should be circular and the
microwave wavelength should be about 1 kilometers in diameter or larger; the ground
antenna (rectenna) should be elliptical, 10 km wide, and a length that makes the rectenna
appear circular. Smaller antennas would result in increased losses to diffraction/sidelobes.
For the desired (23mW/cm²) microwave intensity these antennas could transfer between 5
and 10 gigawatts of power.

To be most cost effective, the system should operate at maximum capacity. And, to collect
and convert that much power, the satellite would require between 50 and 100 square
kilometers of collector area (if readily available ~14% efficient monocrystalline silicon solar
cells were deployed). State of the art (currently, quite expensive, triple junction gallium
arsenide) solar cells with a maximum efficiency of 40.7% could reduce the necessary
collector area by two thirds, but would not necessarily give overall lower costs for various
reasons.

LEO instead of GEO

A collection of LEO (Low Earth Orbit) space power stations has been proposed as a
precursor to GEO (Geostationary Orbit) space power beaming systems. There would be both
advantages (much shorter energy transmission path lengths allowing smaller antenna sizes,
lower cost to orbit, energy delivery to much of the Earth's surface, assuming appropriate
antennas are available, etc.) and disadvantages (constantly changing antenna geometries,
increased debris collision difficulties, requirement of many more power stations to provide
continuous power delivery at any particular point on the Earth's surface, etc.). It might be
possible to deploy LEO systems sooner than GEO because the antenna development would
take less time, but it would certainly take longer to prepare and launch the number of
required satellites. Ultimately, because full engineering feasibility studies have not been

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conducted, it is not known whether this approach would be an improvement over a GEO
installation.

Earth-based infrastructure(Rectenna)

The Earth-based receiver antenna (or rectenna) is a critical part of the original SPS concept.
It would probably consist of many short dipole antennas, connected via diodes. Microwaves
broadcast from the SPS will be received in the dipoles with about 85% efficiency. With a
conventional microwave antenna, the reception efficiency is still better, but the cost and
complexity is also considerably greater, almost certainly prohibitively so. Rectennas would
be multiple kilometers across. Crops and farm animals may be raised underneath a rectenna,
as the thin wires used for support and for the dipoles will only slightly reduce sunlight, so
such a rectenna would not be as expensive in terms of land use as might be supposed.

Advantages :

The SPS concept is attractive because space has several major advantages over the Earth's
surface for the collection of solar power. There is no air in space, so the collecting surfaces
would receive much more intense sunlight, unaffected by weather. In geostationary orbit, an
SPS would be illuminated over 99% of the time. The SPS would be in Earth's shadow on
only a few days at the spring and fall equinoxes; and even then for a maximum of 75 minutes
late at night when power demands are at their lowest. This characteristic of SPS based power
generation systems to avoid the expensive storage facilities (eg, lakes behind dams, oil
storage tanks, coal dumps, etc) necessary in many Earth-based power generation systems.
Additionally, an SPS will have none of the polluting consequences of fossil fuel systems, nor
the ecological problems resulting from many renewable or low impact power generation
systems (eg, dam retention lakes).

Economically, an SPS deployment project would create many new jobs and contract
opportunities for industry, which may have political implications in the country or region
which undertakes the project. Certainly the energy from an SPS would reduce political
tension resulting from unequal distribution of energy supplies (eg, oil, gas, etc). For nations

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on the equator, SPS provides an incentive to stabilise and a sustained opportunity to lease
land for launch sites.

Developing the industrial capacity needed to construct and maintain one or more SPS
systems would significantly reduce the cost of other space endeavours. For example, a
manned Mars mission might only cost hundreds of millions, instead of tens of billions, if it
can rely on an already existing capability.

Space solar power would be the only means of acquiring direct solar energy to supplement
the burning of fossil fuels or nuclear energy sources under the most extreme conditions of a
global catastrophic volcanic winter (or similarly, nuclear winter

Disadvantage:

1. Storage of electricity during off peak demand hours .

2. The frequency of beamed radiation is planned to be at 2.45 GHz and
this frequency is used by communication satellites also.
3. The entire structure is massive.
4. High initial cost and require much time for construction.
5. Radiation hazards associated with the system.

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 Comparison of Power Sources

Power Costs Cost/Watt Pros Cons

Generation
Nuclear State of the 3-5 billion $61.32 Extensive scientific Nuclear
proliferation
Power art facilities for the data available
can generate facility Technology has been Larger capital
costs
up to 366 established and used
Gigawatts for decades Security and
risks of
No greenhouse effects
containment
breaches
Fossil Dependent Currently oil $53.42 Inexpensive and Pollution , acid
rain and global
Fuels upon usage is at $100 a established
warming
barrel and Currently Abundant Extensive
transportation
expected to and highly Versatile
rise Limited Supply
Increasing costs
Solar 19-56 watts at a rate of <$1.00 Free as long as sunlight Requirement of
Power per square <$1.00, (employing is available special materials
meter. Max dependent new Current
power upon the technologies) technology
generation size of the requires large
limited only station amounts of land
by size for small
amounts of
energy

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 generation
Solar 230 watts per 70-80 billion <$1.00 Can produce electricity Extremely
Powered square meter including (employing 24 hours a day, 7 days expensive
Satellites up to 8.75 launch costs new a week.
terawatts technologies) Satellite can transmit
power to different
areas globally

Conclusion

The economic case for a solar power satellite is most compelling if the solar power satellite
can generate power that sells at peak, rather than average, price.. Several new designs for
solar power satellites were considered, in an attempt to maximize the amount of power
produced at peak rates. This study has given researchers a remarkable insight into uncertain
future of development of power from space.

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.

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