SSPD (Space Solar Power Demonstrator)

2023: First Satellite Power Receipt

On June 1, 2023, American scientists from the California Institute of Technology reported that for the first time in history they managed to conduct a successful experiment to transfer energy from space to Earth.

The test platform includes the SSPD-1 Space Solar Power Demonstrator, a small satellite weighing approximately 50 kg, which was launched in January 2023 using a SpaceX rocket. The device contains three key modules designed to test various technologies related to the collection of solar energy for subsequent transmission from space to Earth.

Scientists for the first time in history managed to conduct a successful experiment on the transfer of energy from space to Earth

It is said that American scientists based on SSPD-1 successfully performed the MAPLE (Microwave Array for Power-Transfer Low-orbit Experiment) experiment. It involves the use of an array of light microwave transmitters controlled by special electronic chips manufactured using a relatively inexpensive silicon technique. The MAPLE system collects solar energy, converts it into microwave radiation and sends it to the ground receiver through a phased antenna.

It is noted that the energy from the satellite was registered by a special receiving installation mounted on the roof of the Gordon and Bettie Moore Engineering Laboratory on the campus of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. The received signal appeared at the expected time, and the value of its frequency shift exactly corresponded to the calculated value.

The experiment confirms the viability of the concept of obtaining energy from space. Satellites in orbit will be able to generate electricity constantly - regardless of the cycles of day and night, seasons and cloud cover. This would potentially yield eight times more energy compared to solar panels installed on the Earth's surface^[1]

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