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A 6-U Commercial Constellation For Space Solar Power Supply To Other Spacecraft, Corey Bergsrud, Jeremy Straub
A 6-U Commercial Constellation For Space Solar Power Supply To Other Spacecraft, Corey Bergsrud, Jeremy Straub
Jeremy Straub
This poster presents early stage planning for a constellation
of 6-U CubeSats which will collect power from
the sun and supply it to other spacecraft in Earth orbit. Unlike
solar panels (which have a known decay rate), antenna
systems (such as would be required to receive microwavetransmitted
power) do not substantially decay over the
typical (or prospectively extended, under this model)
spacecraft lifetime. This allows a spacecraft to be built for
long-term operations (utilizing an electric propulsion technology
and/or a greater supply of conventional propellant)
and receive power from a lower-cost utility provider
spacecraft, which can be replaced on a …