Post by account_disabled on Feb 20, 2024 2:06:40 GMT -5
Space solar provides a way to harness the virtually unlimited supply of solar energy in outer space. Solar energy from space is available continuously, not subject to day and night cycles, seasons and cloud cover, which can produce up to eight times more energy than solar panels anywhere on Earth's surface.
However, storing space solar energy, transmitting it to Earth and using it remains a challenge.
To overcome this problem, researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have developed a microwave array for the Energy Transfer Low Orbit Experiment (MAPLE) aimed at generating and transmitting solar energy from space to the surface of the planet. Land.
The space solar power prototype lau C Level Executive List nched into orbit in January is now operational. It has demonstrated its ability to transmit power wirelessly in space and to transmit detectable energy to Earth for the first time.
Being tested by the Space Solar Power Demonstrator (SSPD-), it is the first space prototype of Caltech's Space Solar Power Project (SSPP) that aims to collect solar energy in space and transmit it to the Earth's surface.
MAPLE consists of lightweight, flexible microwave power transmitters powered by custom electronic chips built with low-cost silicon technology. It uses a series of transmitters to transmit energy to the desired locations.
For SSPP to be feasible, power transmission arrangements must be lightweight to minimize the amount of fuel needed to send them into space, flexible enough to fold into a package that can be carried on a rocket, and generally low-cost technology. .
Using constructive and destructive interference between transmitters, a bank of power transmitters can change the focus and direction of the energy it emits without moving parts. A transmitter array uses a precisely timed control element to dynamically focus power to a desired location using a coherent combination of electromagnetic waves. Due to this, most of the energy is transmitted to the desired place.
To receive the power, MAPLE features two separate sets of receivers located about a foot away from the transmitter. It then converts the power into direct current (DC) electricity and uses it to light a pair of LEDs to display the complete sequence of remote wireless power transmission in space.
MAPLE tested this by lighting each LED individually in the space and moving back and forth between them. The experiment is not sealed, so it is subject to the harsh environmental conditions of space, including the wide temperature swings and solar radiation that large-scale SSPP units will one day face.
MAPLE also includes a small window through which the matrix can transmit energy. This transmitted energy was then detected by a receiver on the roof of the Gordon and Betty Moore Engineering Laboratory on the Caltech campus in Pasadena.
According to the researchers, the received signal appeared at the expected time and frequency and had the correct frequency shift as predicted based on its journey from orbit.
Through the experiments the researchers have conducted so far, they received confirmation that MAPLE can successfully transmit energy to receivers in space. Researchers have also been able to program the array to direct its energy toward Earth, which they detected at Caltech.
“To our knowledge, no one has ever demonstrated wireless power transfer in space, even with expensive rigid structures. We are doing it with flexible, light structures and with our own integrated circuits. This is the first time,” says Ali Hajimiri, Bren Professor of Electrical Engineering and Medical Engineering and co-director of SSPP.
“In the same way that the Internet democratized access to information, we hope that wireless energy transfer will democratize access to energy,” Hajimiri says. “No onshore power transmission infrastructure will be needed to receive this power. “That means we can send power to remote regions and areas devastated by war or natural disasters.”
Researchers tested MAPLE on Earth and are aware of the demonstration that power transmitters could also survive launch and space flight and continue to function. Additionally, the experiment has provided useful feedback to SSPP engineers. The power transmission antennas are assembled in groups of , each group driven by a fully customized flexible integrated circuit chip.
However, storing space solar energy, transmitting it to Earth and using it remains a challenge.
To overcome this problem, researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have developed a microwave array for the Energy Transfer Low Orbit Experiment (MAPLE) aimed at generating and transmitting solar energy from space to the surface of the planet. Land.
The space solar power prototype lau C Level Executive List nched into orbit in January is now operational. It has demonstrated its ability to transmit power wirelessly in space and to transmit detectable energy to Earth for the first time.
Being tested by the Space Solar Power Demonstrator (SSPD-), it is the first space prototype of Caltech's Space Solar Power Project (SSPP) that aims to collect solar energy in space and transmit it to the Earth's surface.
MAPLE consists of lightweight, flexible microwave power transmitters powered by custom electronic chips built with low-cost silicon technology. It uses a series of transmitters to transmit energy to the desired locations.
For SSPP to be feasible, power transmission arrangements must be lightweight to minimize the amount of fuel needed to send them into space, flexible enough to fold into a package that can be carried on a rocket, and generally low-cost technology. .
Using constructive and destructive interference between transmitters, a bank of power transmitters can change the focus and direction of the energy it emits without moving parts. A transmitter array uses a precisely timed control element to dynamically focus power to a desired location using a coherent combination of electromagnetic waves. Due to this, most of the energy is transmitted to the desired place.
To receive the power, MAPLE features two separate sets of receivers located about a foot away from the transmitter. It then converts the power into direct current (DC) electricity and uses it to light a pair of LEDs to display the complete sequence of remote wireless power transmission in space.
MAPLE tested this by lighting each LED individually in the space and moving back and forth between them. The experiment is not sealed, so it is subject to the harsh environmental conditions of space, including the wide temperature swings and solar radiation that large-scale SSPP units will one day face.
MAPLE also includes a small window through which the matrix can transmit energy. This transmitted energy was then detected by a receiver on the roof of the Gordon and Betty Moore Engineering Laboratory on the Caltech campus in Pasadena.
According to the researchers, the received signal appeared at the expected time and frequency and had the correct frequency shift as predicted based on its journey from orbit.
Through the experiments the researchers have conducted so far, they received confirmation that MAPLE can successfully transmit energy to receivers in space. Researchers have also been able to program the array to direct its energy toward Earth, which they detected at Caltech.
“To our knowledge, no one has ever demonstrated wireless power transfer in space, even with expensive rigid structures. We are doing it with flexible, light structures and with our own integrated circuits. This is the first time,” says Ali Hajimiri, Bren Professor of Electrical Engineering and Medical Engineering and co-director of SSPP.
“In the same way that the Internet democratized access to information, we hope that wireless energy transfer will democratize access to energy,” Hajimiri says. “No onshore power transmission infrastructure will be needed to receive this power. “That means we can send power to remote regions and areas devastated by war or natural disasters.”
Researchers tested MAPLE on Earth and are aware of the demonstration that power transmitters could also survive launch and space flight and continue to function. Additionally, the experiment has provided useful feedback to SSPP engineers. The power transmission antennas are assembled in groups of , each group driven by a fully customized flexible integrated circuit chip.