CONSTRUCTING A CONSTELLATION OF 6U SOLAR POWER CUBE SATELLITES

The development of a constellation of 6U CubeSats is proposed to collect solar power in space and utilize it to power other spacecraft through space-to-space microwave wireless power transmission (MWPT). This allows power generation capabilities to be moved from being on-board each consumer craft to a centralized collection of nodes that can be replaced, as needed, as their solar cells efficiency diminishes overtime (or craft fail, etc.). This paper presents an overview of a 6U Solar Power CubeSat (SPCS) with deployable solar panels for use in low-Earth orbit (LEO). The capabilities of the spacecraft are detailed as are several prospective constellation deployment scenarios for their use. The spacecraft on-board subsystems are discussed detailing the requirements needed for the proposed mission and how they are fulfilled. The microwave transmitter architecture will use a Traveling Wave Tube Amplifier (TWTA) and horn antenna at a frequency of 12 GHz. The spacecraft’s cost is estimated and its longevity is projected. The paper concludes by considering the possible impediments to the deployment of this system. This includes both technical implementation considerations and legal and regulatory implications. It assesses the current state-of