Space solar power satellite for interplanetary mission

Research output: Contribution to journalConference articlepeer-review

Abstract

Ever since humans have landed on the moon, many space agencies have investigated the Moon, Mars, and asteroids, driven by the quest for knowledge and future space missions. For the interplanetary mission, space engineers are working on the satellite, conceptual design of space habitat, and exploration system. The state of the art in those missions relies on the radioisotope thermoelectric generator or solar panel attached with batteries to store power, which is plagued by certain limitations. For instance, the collection of solar energy is inversely proportional to the distance from the Sun. Moreover, to run the central processing unit, avionics and payload inside the spacecraft requires constant monitors of temperature. In addition, this power generation unit of satellites carries a pack of batteries to store energy, which makes more than 10 - 25 % of the weight of the satellites. In hindsight, space solar power satellite serves a potential for a more reliable source of energy transmission as compared to the traditional method. Space agencies have already studied space solar power station designing concepts for gigawatts wireless power transmission systems from space to Earth to fulfil global electricity demand. Yet another avenue where space solar power satellites support an application is its utility towards rovers and habitat. For instance, the rovers on the Moon and Mars moves very slow to maintain performance for a lifetime. On Mars, sandstorms affect the collection of energy at the attached solar panel to the rover. Furthermore, a difficult to investigate in the far side, crater, and polar region of the Moon, where sunlight is unavailable for a few days. This challenge can be suitably overcome by employing a space solar power satellite, which can be used for wireless power transmission, independent of its location. Such techniques demonstrate possible applications towards power transmission for unmanned aerial vehicles for faster mapping purposes. As such, the dependence of those aerial vehicles towards fixed energy storage becomes alleviated. In this paper, we are comparing power generation by traditional method vs space solar power satellite. Simultaneously the future habitat on Mars and the Moon will receive continuous power by developing a perfect small space solar power satellite system for interplanetary and solar-system investigation mission satellites to achieve continuous power.

Original languageEnglish
JournalProceedings of the International Astronautical Congress, IAC
Volume2020-October
Publication statusPublished - 2020
Event71st International Astronautical Congress, IAC 2020 - Virtual, Online
Duration: Oct 12 2020Oct 14 2020

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Aerospace Engineering
  • Astronomy and Astrophysics
  • Space and Planetary Science

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