The Transporter-6 mission was launched to space on January 3 on the Momentus Vigoride spacecraft carried aboard a SpaceX rocket.
We celebrate the successful launch of the @SpaceX Transporter-6 mission this morning; the payload contains a demo unit of the Space Solar Power Project, set to test several aspects of the effort to transmit space-based solar power to earth: https://t.co/XVsz9fVWq4
— Caltech (@Caltech) January 3, 2023
1. Caltech’s Space Solar Power Project
Harvesting solar power from space isn’t a new concept and a new demo led by Caltech — Space Solar Power Project (SSPD) — is already in orbit and about to test its three main experiments, each designed to assess a different key technology for the project to succeed. The three main experiments are the Deployable on-Orbit ultraLight Composit Experiment (DOLCE), the Microwave Array for Power-transfer Low-orbit Experiment (MAPLE), and a set of 22 varying types of photovoltaic cells called ALBA.
In January 2023, the @Caltech Space Solar Power Project (SSPP) is poised to launch into orbit a prototype which will test several key components of an ambitious plan to harvest solar power in space and beam the energy back to Earth.https://t.co/ZY5X5vbdRU
— AAU (@AAUniversities) January 5, 2023
“For many years, I’ve dreamed about how space-based solar power could solve some of humanity’s most urgent challenges,” said Donald Bren, a member of the Caltech Board of Trustees who agreed to make the first donation to fund the project through the Donald Bren Foundation. “Today, I’m thrilled to be supporting Caltech’s brilliant scientists as they race to make that dream a reality.”
2. Running tests
The SpaceX rocket took approximately 10 minutes to reach its desired altitude. The Momentus spacecraft was then deployed from the rocket into orbit. The Caltech team on Earth plans to start running their experiments on the SSPD within a few weeks of the launch. Overall, scientists will test three major challenges to space-based solar power, namely deployment, efficiency, and wireless transmission back to Earth. The ALBA and MAPLE experiments will take time to get ready, but DOLCE, which will test the solar panel and Demonstrator’s superstructure deployment, will take place first.
“We plan to command the deployment of DOLCE within days of getting access to SSPD from Momentus. We should know right away if DOLCE works,” said Sergio Pellegrino, Professor of Aerospaced and Civil Engineering at Caltech.
The challenge, however, is that space-based solar power is in space, an area hard to get to and build in and the Caltech’s scientists admit the possibility of failure while recognizing the orbiting prototype as a major step forward.
“Many times, we asked colleagues at [NASA and Caltech’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory] and in the Southern California space industry for advice about the design and test procedures that are used to develop successful missions.”
We tried to reduce the risk of failure, even though the development of entirely new technologies is inherently a risky process.
Sergio Pellegrino
3. Competing for space-based solar power
Previous projects from Emrod, an Auckland based company specializing in long range wireless energy transfer, in partnership with the European Space Agency (ESA), Airbus and Technocarbon have successfully demonstrated the power beaming capacity for space-based energy infrastructure, by using satellites to capture solar energy in space. Another experiment carried out by Airbus last September also revealed promising expectations for space-based solar power.
