Engineering Commons^™

Sunsat Design Competition 2014-2015 First Place Winner – Team Cast: Multi-Rotary Joints Sps, Xinbin Hou, Meng Li, Lili Niu, Lu Zhou, Ying Chen, Zhengai Cheng, Haipeng Ji

Online Journal of Space Communication

Space Power Satellite (SPS) is a huge spacecraft designed to collect solar energy in space for supplying electric power to the electric grid on the ground. The SPS concept was first proposed by Dr. Peter Glaser in 1968.

Various studies on SPS in various countries have been produced over the past forty years. Today, there are multiple variations on this early concept, both in innovation and in optimization. Because of the huge size, immense mass and high power of these SPS installations, there are many technological difficulties.

Here, a new Multi-Rotary Joints SPS (MR-SPS) concept is proposed. The large solar …

A Us-India Power Exchange Towards A Space Power Grid, Brendan Dessanti, Nicholas Picon, Carlos Rios, Shaan Shah, Narayanan Komerath

Online Journal of Space Communication

The Space Power Grid (SPG) architecture
described in papers from our group since 2006, is an
evolutionary approach to realizing the global dream of
Space Solar Power (SSP). SPG first concentrates on helping
terrestrial power plants become viable, aligning with public
policy priorities. It enables a real -time power exchange
through Space to help locate new plants at ideal but remote
sites, smooth supply fluctuations, reach high-valued
markets, and achieve baseload status. With retail cost kept
to moderate levels, a constellation grows in 17 years to 100
power relay satellites at 2000 km sun-synchronous and
equatorial orbits and 250 terrestrial …

Space Solar Power For Agriculture, Max Alvarez, Alex Wiseman, Alex Welsh, Rashmi Sharma, Adedayo Ogundimu, Brian Woods

Online Journal of Space Communication

As the global population increases, it's becoming more important for nations to be able to feed themselves. Unfortunately, while some developing nations may be able to produce large amounts of fruits and vegetables, they may lack access to facilities for food preservation. This problem is at the heart of food security issues across Asia and Africa. Working in consultation with Peter Garretson, an International Affairs Fellow in India, our Ohio University student team has designed a space-based solar power solution that addresses this need, with the potential to provide many secondary benefits. While our project targets the Indian subcontinent and …

Sunbeams From Space Mirrors Feeding Solar Farms On The Ground At Dusk And Dawn, Tyler Goldberg, Zoe Zeszut, Steve Larkin, Colin Mercer, Shelby Roades, Jimmy Clark, Anthony Zoccola, Logan Hayes

Online Journal of Space Communication

For 40 years, the systems designers of space solar power have given their greatest attention to wireless power as microwave transmission from space to earth. The approach taken in this application is to place space satellites in lower sunsyncronous orbits for the purpose of gathering and focusing sun’s rays into a beam of reflected sunlight. The simple idea and application of this design is to extend the solar day of terrestrial solar farms, thereby increasing solar production capacity to 60 percent and reducing solar electricity costs to under 6 cents/kWh by delivering sunlight to a given location some 14 (rather …

Vision For Producing Fresh Water Using Space Power, W. Kent Tobiska

Online Journal of Space Communication

An escalating climate crisis is stressing the Earth's environment. One significantly affected area is the global water infrastructure that includes hydropower, flood defense, drainage, and irrigation systems. The effect of adverse climate change on freshwater systems aggravates population growth and weakens economic conditions. In the western U.S., for example, reduced water supplies plus increased demand are likely to provoke more interstate and urban-rural competition for over-allocated water resources. Seawater desalination has existed for decades as a proven technology for supplying water in coastal areas; however, desalination processes are energy intensive and this has reduced their widespread use. It is noted …

Profile Of Britt Carina Horncastle, Mary Frost

Online Journal of Space Communication

Profile of and interview with Britt Carina Horncastle, Satellite Consultant

Increasing The Predictive Capability Of Mapping Technologies For Healthcare In Disaster Management, Simon O.M. Adebola

Online Journal of Space Communication

Health as defined by the WHO/EUROs Health 21 is 'the reduction in mortality, morbidity and disability due to detectable disease and disorder, and an increase in the perceived level of health' (WHO, 1999). Health Impact Assessment (HIA) is a combination of procedures, methods and tools by which a policy, program or project may be judged as to its potential effects on the health of a population, and the distribution of those effects within the population (WHO, 1999).

Remote Sensing And Human Health: New Sensors And New Opportunities, Louisa R. Beck, Bradley M. Lobitz, Byron L. Wood

Online Journal of Space Communication

Remote sensing data enable scientists to study the earth's biotic and abiotic components. These components and their changes have been mapped from space at several temporal and spatial scales since 1972. A small number of investigators in the health community have explored remotely sensed environmental factors that might be associated with disease-vector habitats and human transmission risk. However, most human health studies using remote sensing data have focused on data from Landsat's Multispectral Scanner (MSS) and Thematic Mapper (TM), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)'s Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR), and France's Système Pour l'Observation de la Terre …

Use Of Google Earth™ To Strengthen Public Health Capacity And Facilitate Management Of Vector-Borne Diseases In Resource-Poor Environments, Saul Lozano-Fuentes

Online Journal of Space Communication

Novel, inexpensive solutions are needed for improved management of vector-borne and other diseases in resource-poor environments. Emerging free software providing access to satellite imagery and simple editing tools (e.g. Google Earth™) complement existing geographic information system (GIS) software and provide new opportunities for: (i) strengthening overall public health capacity through development of information for city infrastructures; and (ii) display of public health data directly on an image of the physical environment.

Collaborators include: Saul Lozano-Fuentes, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA; Darwin Elizondo-Quiroga, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort …

Opportunities And Challenges Of E-Health And Telemedicine Via Satelite, C. Dario, A. Dunbar, F. Feliciani, M. Garcia-Barbero, S. Giovannetti, G. Graschew, A. Güell, A. Horsch, M. Jenssen, L. Kleinebreil, R. Latifi, M. M. Lleo, P. Mancini, M. T.J. Mohr, P. Ortiz García, S. Pedersen, J. M. Pérez-Sastre, A. Rey

Online Journal of Space Communication

The introduction of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the health scenario is instrumental for the development of sustainable services of direct benefit for the European citizen. The setting up of satellite based applications will enhance rapidly the decentralisation and the enrichment of the European territory driving it towards a homogenous environment for healthcare.

Satellite Imagery In The Study And Forecast Of Malaria, David J. Rogers, Sarah E. Randolph, Robert W. Snow, Simon I. Hay

Online Journal of Space Communication

More than 30 years ago, human beings looked back from the Moon to see the magnificent spectacle of Earthrise. The technology that put us into space has since been used to assess the damage we are doing to our natural environment and is now being harnessed to monitor and predict diseases through space and time. Satellite sensor data promise the development of early-warning systems for diseases such as malaria, which kills between 1 and 2 million people each year.

A Review Of Ict Systems For Hiv/Aids And Anti-Retroviral Treatment Management In South Africa, Tove Sørensen, Ulrike Rivett, Jill Fortuin

Online Journal of Space Communication

HIV/AIDS is a major global health problem. In South Africa, it is estimated that 5.4 million people are infected by HIV, out of a population of nearly 48 million, giving a prevalence rate of about 11%. About 600,000 individuals are infected with AIDS. Furthermore, the estimates show that, by mid-2006, some 711,000 people were in need of anti-retroviral treatment (ART), while 225,000 were actually receiving it.

Re-Inventing Health Care Training In The Developing World: The Case For Satellite Applications In Rural Environments, Krishnan Haridasan, Srinivasan Rangarajan, Gregory Pirio

Online Journal of Space Communication

The rapid advance of Information Communication Technology (ICT) in low and middle income countries has created an unprecedented opportunity to change the way that pre-service and in-service education of health care workers is delivered. The virtual ubiquity of satellite delivery, the dramatically increasing accessibility to the Internet, and the ever expanding mobile phone platform means that there is virtually no part of the world that cannot take advantage of ICT to deliver more effective and less costly learning experience to health care practitioners. ICT can play a vital role in training healthcare professionals, across the board - in nursing schools, …

The Possible Use Of Telemedicine In Developing Countries, R. Wootton

Online Journal of Space Communication

Since the place of telemedicine in the industrialized world is by no means properly worked out yet, it might seem premature to consider its use in developing countries. Nonetheless, there is interest in the possible use of telemedicine in developing countries, from at least two organizations:

1. The Midjan group, an impromptu committee that was formed following the African Regional Telecommunications Development Conference in Abidjan in March 19963. This European telemedicine collaboration group aims to explore the use of telemedicine in developing countries. At present, the group includes representatives from 22 telecommunication and medical informatics suppliers, telecommunication operators, universities, hospitals and …

Issue 12: Contributors, Don Flournoy

Online Journal of Space Communication

Biographical information on the Issue 12 contributors.

Satellite Technology Applications In Education: Examples From Greece, Yioryos Nardis

Online Journal of Space Communication

In ancient Greece, there was a mechanism for processing space information from the earth. The Antikythera has since been referred to as the world's first (mechanical) computer. In Greece, the Antikythera mechanism was used to fabricate calendars and schedules for seasons of harvesting and for organizing religious festivals. More than two millennia later, the descendants of these early scholars and technicians are still using outer space to educate themselves, but now the mechanism is electronic and digital using software and spaced-based satellites.

Worldspace Satellite Radio, S. Rangarajan

Online Journal of Space Communication

There are significant challenges to the delivery of quality education to less-developed nations. The primary obstacle is the lack of available and affordable connectivity solutions. Broadcast satellites can play an important role to fill this void. Particularly, digital broadcast satellites can provide audio and multimedia contents to multiple locations simultaneously. WorldSpace, with its extensive reach and low-cost terminals, offers a viable solution to increase the access to global educational resources. This solution includes audio formats, asynchronous multimedia delivery and creation of virtual classrooms with instructor-led, synchronous delivery of audio-visual presentations. These help enhance the quality of education delivery across Africa …

The Broadband Satellite System "Ipstar": Applications In Asia-Pacific Region, Masudul Biswas

Online Journal of Space Communication

The increasing trend of data traffic has turned the world into an information society. Even so, a significant portion of the areas and populations of the world have remained outside the flow of data traffic keeping them information-poor. That is why the issue of "digital divide" has popped up. But it is the cost-effectiveness factor of delivering systems that has guided the changes taking place in information and communication technologies that will ultimately benefit the end users.

Access To Education In Africa Via Satellite, Hala Ibrahim

Online Journal of Space Communication

The potential of satellite technologies to improve access to education in Africa is discussed in this paper. Education contributes to sustainable development in Africa. However, accessibility to quality education has been stalled by many barriers, including lack of infrastructure, lack of trained teachers, high teacher/student ratios and shortage of educational materials. Satellites are among the information and communication technologies (ICTs) with the potential to by-pass terrestrial barriers to deliver educational services to scattered users.

The Challenges Of Distance Education, Abdul Waheed Khan

Online Journal of Space Communication

Education is of extreme importance as it is key to equipping the workforce with the skills needed to develop national economies. The importance is exemplified by the "Education for All" movement, a global commitment to provide quality basic education for all children, youth and adults, which links directly to the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Sustainable development of quality primary education is dependent on complementary development in the secondary and tertiary education sectors. With economies relying more and more on the generation and application of knowledge, productivity is increasingly dependent on the development and spread of technological innovation. Higher education …

Issue 11: Contributors, Don Flournoy

Online Journal of Space Communication

Biographical information for the Issue 11 contributors:

Daniel Butler

Don Flournoy

Scott Madry

Joseph Pelton

Issue 7: Contributors, David Hartshorn, Martin Jarrold

Online Journal of Space Communication

List of Issue 7 Contributors.

Future Solutions: Universal Access, David Hartshorn

Online Journal of Space Communication

Today, the nations of the world have an immediate opportunity to advance essential telecommunication policy objectives through harmonisation of regulations governing the use of fixed satellite-based network solutions.

Regulatory Reform: Strengthening Access To Information & Communications Technologies: Guidelines To Facilitate Policy & Regulation For Satellite Services, Global Vsat Forum

Online Journal of Space Communication

This document was prepared by GVF, an association of organisations engaged in the delivery of advanced broadband and narrowband satellite services to consumers, and commercial and government enterprises worldwide.

Regulatory Reform: Asia's Great Step Forward, David Hartshorn

Online Journal of Space Communication

This paper was presented at Connect-World Asia Pacific, June 2002.

Forget about a great leap forward. All that's needed to facilitate communications in Asia are a few small steps. Indeed, today all nations of the world have an immediate opportunity to advance essential telecommunication policy objectives through harmonisation of regulations governing the use of telecommunications solutions.

Regulatory Reform: Wanted: A Bridge For Africa's Digital Divide Apply: Pretty Much Anywhere In Africa Quote Reference: Vsat, Martin Jarrold

Online Journal of Space Communication

For Africa, and for the economy of the whole planet, those hundreds of millions of people across the continent who are currently denied reasonable access to even simple voice service represent a vast untapped pool of creativity. This very large and potentially very powerful economic dynamo demands access to more than the simplest tools of communication, and requires the means to unleash the potential productivity of its own knowledge-base into an increasingly connected world. The International Telecommunications Union acknowledges this, as does its sister organisation, the United Nations. The Global VSAT Forum enjoins you to acknowledge it too.

Overview: A+B+C = Vsat, Martin Jarrold

Online Journal of Space Communication

The benefits of VSAT systems and services are being realised in all spheres across the globe, both private and public. Banks, government departments, schools, hospitals, home offices, small enterprises, multi-national corporates, and rural telephony… all sectors are seizing upon the opportunity to get connected through satellite communications.

Overview: Satellite Communication In Ghana - Challenges And Prospects, Kwasi Boateng

Online Journal of Space Communication

Busy Internet is a Ghanaian ISP that uses satellite connectivity to bring Internet to West Africans. The operations of this ISP illustrate the reliability, versatility and efficiency of, VSAT, (Very Small Aperture Terminal) networks in delivering fast broadband Internet services.

Overview: Politics And Technology Converge: Case Studies On The Effects Of Regulatory Reform On Vsat Adoption In Developing Countries, Emmanuel Adugu, Kwasi Boateng, D. Flournoy, Eric Gavua, Wencelous Kaswoswe, Miao Zhang

Online Journal of Space Communication

Developing countries are actively implementing satellite data networks, and have undertaken policy reforms to facilitate such networks. This research examines how regulatory changes have resulted in the removal of barriers relating to the deployment of access technologies and growth in connectivity, especially in VSAT installations for low cost Internet access. In addition, this research seeks to identify the socio-economic impact of emerging data network applications in government, business, health and education. In some cases, government offices have been the driver of change; in other cases, businesses have been the ones to initiate and press these developments forward.

Overview: Pipelines Of The Skies, Errol Olivier

Online Journal of Space Communication

Advances in fixed satellite technology are enabling oil and gas concerns to enhance the efficiency of offshore operations with cost-effective voice and data network solutions.