System-Level Feasibility Assessment of Microwave Power Beaming for Small Satellites

摘要

Although wireless power transmission to fulfill Earth’s energy needs has been a widely popularized application ofrnmicrowave power beaming, one space application that remains relatively unexplored is power beaming betweenrnsatellites. This paper provides a system-level analysis of the feasibility and limitations of microwave power beamingrnwithin a small-satellite cluster. This analysis consists of four parts using parametricmodels of spacecraft power as arnfunction of 11 key design variables. In the first part, the existence of feasible designs is verified with a Monte Carlorndesign trade-space sweep. Next, a feasible baseline (reference) design is defined, and then sensitivity to individualrnvariables is assessed. Finally, the design space is visualized with respect to six influential variables. Despite severalrnoptimistic assumptions, it is demonstrated that the small-satellite power-beaming design space is severelyrnconstrained. Feasible designs involve high transmission frequencies (greater than 33GHz), large antenna diametersrn(greater than 0.93 m), and stringent proximity operations between satellites (within 740 m). Furthermore, fullrndependence of one small spacecraft on power provided by another is shown to be effectively infeasible. These resultsrndo suggest, however, that microwave power beaming may deserve consideration as an auxiliary or short-termrnemergency power mode for future small-satellite clusters.