California Institute of Technology

Stc.unm

Sergio Pellegrino

Seyed Ali Hajimiri

Harry A Atwater

Eleftherios E Gdoutos

Manan Arya

Emily C Warmann

Dennis Callahan

Jeffrey P Bosco

Nicolas Lee

Behrooz Abiri

Florian Bohn

Joseph Costantine

Christophe Leclerc

Melanie Delapierre

Maria Sakovsky

Antonio Pedivellano

Christos G Christodoulou

Youssef Tawk

Austin Fikes

Michael D Kelzenberg

Jonathan Sauder

Ali Naqavi

Oren Mizrahi

Richard E Hodges

Thomas H Heaton

Fabian Wiesemuller

Alan Truong

Samuel Loke

Tatiana Roy

Alexander Messer

Jing Shun Huang

Tatiana Vinogradova

Thibaud Talon

Christoph Benedikt Lukas Karl

Nicolas Nik Lee

Ignacio Maqueda Jimenez

Marie Laslandes

Keith D Patterson

Swaminathan Krishnan

Fabien A Royer

A self-deployable antenna and/or antenna array that is made up of one or more antenna elements. Each of the antenna elements has a structural base that supports portions of the antenna and can be positioned between a stored configuration for compaction and a deployed configuration for transmitting. The antenna elements and structural base can be part of a base substrate that provides a base support for the antenna and/or antenna array to be compacted and deployed.

Self-deployable antenna

Systems and methods in accordance with various embodiments of the invention provide a photovoltaic concentrator tile for a space-based solar power (SBSP) system including constituent components thereof. In a number of embodiments, the photovoltaic concentrator tile include a one photovoltaic cell, a reflector, a power transmitter and circuitry configured to perform a variety of control functions. Embodiments also provide compactible structures, materials for improving thermal emissivity, and methods and mechanisms for manufacturing and using these components.

Ultralight photovoltaic power generation tiles

An actively controlled deployment mechanism with a plurality of centrally controlled rollers as well as outer rollers that are configured to apply a pressure across the compactable portion of the deployable structure. The active control can be implemented though control motors and control loops programed to control the rotation of the rollers. Additionally, the actively controlled deployment reduces the need for bulky and heavy booms with high tension guide wires for the deployment of the structure.

Actively controlled spacecraft deployment mechanism

Multi-functional coilable thin-walled structures that can be implemented within space-based satellite modules, and methods for their manufacture are provided. Multi-functional coilable thin-walled structures are comprised of at least one longeron that is capable of rolling and collapsing upon itself. In some embodiments, the coilable thin-walled longeron is a flange longeron. The flange longeron contains at least two major regions: a web and a plurality of flanges. The web region comprises portions of flanges that are bonded to one another. The plurality of flanges separate from one another on the same end of the web region. The plurality of flanges are similar in thickness and shape.

Coilable thin-walled longerons and coilable structures implementing longerons and methods for their manufacture and coiling

A space-based solar power station, a power generating satellite module and/or a method for collecting solar radiation and transmitting power generated using electrical current produced therefrom is provided. Each solar power station includes a plurality of satellite modules. The plurality of satellite modules each include a plurality of modular power generation tiles including a photovoltaic solar radiation collector, a power transmitter and associated control electronics. Numerous embodiments relate to efficient power generation tiles. In one embodiment, an efficient power generation tile includes: at least one photovoltaic material; and at least one concentrator that redirects incident solar radiation towards a photovoltaic material such that the photovoltaic material experiences a greater solar flux relative to the case where the photovoltaic material experiences unaltered solar radiation.

Large-scale space-based solar power station: efficient power generation tiles

A space-based solar power station, a power generating satellite module and/or a method for collecting solar radiation and transmitting power generated using electrical current produced therefrom is provided. Power transmitters can be coordinated as a phased array and the power generated by the phased array is transmitted to one or more power receivers to achieve remote wireless power generation and delivery. In many embodiments, a reference signal is distributed within the space-based solar power station to coordinate the phased array. In several embodiments, determinations of the relative locations of the antennas in the array are utilized to evaluate the phase shift and/or amplitude modulation to apply the reference signal at each power transmitter.

Large-scale space-based solar power station: power transmission using steerable beams

A deployable reflectarray has a plurality of strips arranged in quadrants forming the reflectarray. The copper ground plane and the copper dipoles are supported by facesheets made of epoxy reinforced by quartz fibers. The copper ground plane is separated from the copper dipoles by S-shaped springs made of epoxy reinforced by quartz fibers, which allow folding and deployment of the reflectarray.

Large aperture deployable reflectarray antenna

Compactable power generation arrays are provided. The compactable power generation arrays may include a structural substrate body having an array of solar concentrators configured to receive and re-direct solar radiation onto a plurality of photovoltaic (PV) cells. In many other embodiments the PV cells may be disposed upon a back surface of each of the solar concentrators such that an adjacent solar concentrator is configured to re-direct solar radiation onto the PV cell disposed on the back surface of the adjacent solar concentrator.

Compactable power generation arrays

A system and method for designing an antenna wherein a plurality of antenna designs are visually compared using performance metric plots that distinguish between geometries that meet all requirements and designs that do not.

Rapid design of deployable antennas for CubeSats

A space-based solar power station, a power generating satellite module and/or a method for collecting solar radiation and transmitting power generated using electrical current produced therefrom, and/or compactible structures and deployment mechanisms used to form and deploy such satellite modules and power generation tiles associated therewith are provided. Each satellite module and/or power generation tile may be formed of a compactable structure and deployment mechanism capable of reducing the payload area required to deliver the satellite module to an orbital formation within the space-based solar power station and reliably deploy it once in orbit.

Large-area structures for compact packaging

A space-based solar power station, a power generating satellite module and/or a method for collecting solar radiation and transmitting power generated using electrical current produced therefrom is provided. Power transmitters can be coordinated as a phased array and the power generated by the phased array is transmitted to one or more power receivers to achieve remote wireless power generation and delivery. In many embodiments, a reference signal is distributed within the space-based solar power station to coordinate the phased array. In several embodiments, determinations of the relative locations of the antennas in the array are generated by an array of sun sensors that estimate the shape of the module to evaluate the phase shift and/or amplitude modulation to apply to the reference signal at each power transmitter.

Systems and methods for performing shape estimation using sun sensors in large-scale space-based solar power stations

Large-scale space-based solar power station: packaging, deployment and stabilization of lightweight structures

An antenna having a body that includes a plurality of rigid sections separated by a plurality of flexible sections and at least one conductor attached to the rigid and flexible sections. The flexible sections forming hinges that connect rigid sections together to permit the body to be configured into a conical configuration from a substantially flat trapezoid configuration.

Dual-matrix composite embedded conductors and deployable structures

A space-based solar power station, a power generating satellite module and/or a method for collecting solar radiation and transmitting power generated using electrical current produced therefrom is provided. Each solar power station includes a plurality of satellite modules. The plurality of satellite modules each include a plurality of modular power generation tiles including a photovoltaic solar radiation collector, a power transmitter and associated control electronics. The power transmitters can be coordinated as a phased array and the power generated by the phased array is transmitted to one or more power receivers to achieve remote wireless power generation and delivery. Each satellite module may be formed of a compactable structure capable of reducing the payload area required to deliver the satellite module to an orbital formation within the space-based solar power station.

Large-scale space-based solar power station: multi-scale modular space power

A method and apparatus for correcting error modes of a deformable mirror, including selecting or targeting one or more target error modes of a deformable mirror; and designing a pattern and/or shape of one or more electrodes, wherein the pattern and/or shape of the electrodes are designed to optimally correct the target error modes when the electrodes are disposed on the deformable mirror via an active material. Also disclosed is a deformable structure, including a composite shell including a plurality of plies each including carbon fibers embedded in a resin; a nanolaminate comprising individual nanolayers attached to a first side of the composite shell; an actuation structure attached to a second side of the composite shell; and a flexible electrode routing layer attached to the actuation structure.

Optimized actuators for ultra-thin mirrors

Growing community of inventors

Pasadena, CA, United States of America

Sergio Pellegrino