Space solar power generation: A viable system proposal and technoeconomic analysis
Creators
-
1.
California Institute of Technology
- 2. Systems Engineering Consultants
Abstract
This paper presents a distributed space solar power system that converts solar insolation into microwave power and beams it to Earth. This system, composed of a power station of close-flying modules residing in geostationary orbit, can form dynamically programmable focal points on Earth to provide dispatchable power on demand. Modules are composed of flexible phased array sheets hosting a self-synchronizing network of integrated circuits and antennas that convert DC power from photovoltaic cells into radiated RF energy. The sheets are coiled into a compact payload, launched, and deployed in orbit. Here, we present a detailed technoeconomic analysis of the proposed system, with investigations into mass, cost to produce and launch, and a levelized cost of energy (LCOE). Our analyses demonstrate that with 10 years of technology development, maturation, and scaling, the proposed 10 GHz system can deliver electricity at 9.4 ¢/kWh—competitive with the cheapest clean energy sources available today.
Acknowledgement
The authors would like to acknowledge the support of the Caltech Space Solar Power Project and the Donald Bren Foundation, without which these efforts would not be possible. Thanks is also extended to Matan Gal-Katziri, Florian Bohn, Behrooz Abiri, and Mohammed Reza M. Hashemi for RFIC conception, design, and testing; Damon Russell, Sharmila Padmanabhan, and Raha Riazati for mission conception and execution; and Mohith Manohara for algorithm development. The authors are also grateful to Andrew Nyholm, Catherine Ryczek, Nimisha Ramprasad, Sara Anjum, and Susana Torres-Londoño for help with PV cost modeling. The authors would also like to thank Nicolas Lee and Manan Arya for initial structural and mission concepts; Ashish Goel and Michael Marshall for orbital dynamic analyses; Charles Sommer, Alan Truong, and Jonathan Sauder for mission support; and Thibaud Talon, Christophe Leclerc, Antonio Pedivellano, Fabien Royer, Alex Wen, and Uba Ubamanyu for contributions to structural concepts.
Copyright and License
© 2025 The Authors.
Data Availability
Relevant data reported in this paper will be shared by the lead contact upon request.
Contributions
Conceptualization, O.S.M., P.J., E.G., J.B., A.A., A.F., A.W., R.M., H.A.A., S.P., and A.H.; data curation, O.S.M., P.J., E.G., and A.F.; formal analysis, O.S.M., P.J., E.G., J.B., A.A., A.F., A.W., and R.M.; funding acquisition, H.A.A., S.P., and A.H.; investigation, O.S.M., P.J., E.G., J.B., A.A., A.F., A.W., and R.M.; methodology, O.S.M., P.J., E.G., J.B., A.A., A.F., A.W., R.M., H.A.A., S.P., and A.H.; project administration, R.M., H.A.A., S.P., and A.H.; resources, H.A.A., S.P., and A.H.; software, O.S.M.; supervision, R.M., H.A.A., S.P., and A.H.; validation, O.S.M., P.J., J.B., A.A., R.M., H.A.A., S.P., and A.H.; visualization, O.S.M., P.J., and J.B.; writing – original draft, O.S.M., P.J., J.B., A.A., A.W., and R.M.; and writing – review and editing, O.S.M., P.J., J.B., A.A., R.M., S.P., and A.H.
Conflict of Interest
The authors have filed numerous patents with the United States Patent and Trademark Office relating to the technologies discussed in this work.
Files
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Additional details
Funding
- California Institute of Technology
- Space Solar Power Project
Dates
- Accepted
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2025-03-31Accepted
- Available
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2025-05-13Published online