LEO Satellite-Based Space Solar Power Systems

In this work, we explore the feasibility of a low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite-based space solar power (SSP) system, where LEO satellites use large photovoltaic (PV) panels to collect solar power and then transmits it to a ground receiver. We establish a theoretical framework to analyze the performance of the considered LEO satellite-based SSP system. Specifically, by taking into account the satellite’s rotation angle with respect to sunlight and the mobility of the LEO satellites, we analytically evaluate the solar energy collection through PV panels and quantify the amount of harvested energy by the ground receiver. Our results demonstrate that increasing transmit power of LEO satellites can boost the energy harvesting performance at the ground receiver. Furthermore, by deploying around 100 LEO satellites, a LEO satellite-based SSP system achieves comparable performance to that of a single geostationary orbit satellite-based SSP system.