Northrop Grumman Turns Science Fiction Into Fact
Science fiction has for decades mooted the idea of collecting the sun’s energy in space and delivering it – safely and reliably – to Earth. Northrop Grumman is making steady progress in making that concept a reality in its Space Solar Power Incremental Demonstrations and Research (SSPIDR) project. The technology has major implications for resolving the power delivery challenges inherent in many forward operating and/or contested areas.
When military personnel establish a forward operating base, one of the most dangerous parts of the ground operation is ensuring delivery of power. Convoys and supply lines, which are major targets for adversaries, are the usual methods of supply; however, solar-powered beaming energy technology can provide constant, consistent and logistically agile power to expeditionary forces operating in hard-to-reach areas – assuring power is transmitted via RF from space, reducing reliance on fuel convoys and other energy generation methods.
The SSPIDR team has used a test chamber specifically designed for RF systems to demonstrate the transmission of directed RF energy to a ground-based rectifying antenna (rectenna) – a critical milestone in developing this pioneering technology. They steered RF energy to a rectenna, energising a series of lights that indicated successful formation of an energy beam and conversion to useful electrical current. As part of the laboratory demonstration, engineers also showcased the ability to beam RF energy to multiple fixed points, by electronically steering and controlling the power beam using AESA technology.
“Space solar power beaming has the potential to provide energy anywhere on Earth at any time, making consistent and reliable energy available to remote locations when it’s needed most,” said Tara Theret, SSPIDR Program Director at Northrop Grumman. “With this demonstration, we are one step closer to taking this technology out of the lab and putting it on orbit.”
As ambitious as it is revolutionary, the SSPIDR project – which is under contracted development partnership with the US Air Force Research Laboratory, will use on-orbit, highly efficient photovoltaic cells to collect solar energy, which will then be converted into RF energy and beamed to a receiving station on Earth — like a power plant, but for space solar energy — where it could be converted to usable energy.
Having successfully demonstrated the conversion of solar energy to transmittable RF energy and wireless beaming capabilities in a laboratory environment, engineers are continuing to fine-tune the array to strengthen beam-steering capabilities. What has for decades been a science fiction concept will soon be on its way to space-based demonstration, with AFRL’s anticipated mission launch in 2025.
