Research into application.

The  Air Force Research Laboratory’s and Northrop Grumman’s Space Solar Power Incremental Demonstrations and Research (SSPIDR) Project have successfully conducted the first end-to-end demonstration of key hardware for the Arachne flight experiment.

A ground demonstration of novel components for the “sandwich tile” were used to successfully convert solar energy to radio frequency (RF) – a fundamental step required to pave the way for a large-scale solar power collection system in space.

In 2018, AFRL awarded Northrop Grumman a contract worth over $100 million for the development of a payload to demonstrate the key components of a prototype space solar power system. The sandwich tile is currently under development as an essential payload component for Arachne, and as a building block for a large-scale operational system.

The sandwich tile consists of two layers. The first layer is a panel of highly efficient photovoltaic (PV) cells which collect solar energy and provide power to the second layer. The second layer is populated with components that enable solar to RF conversion and beamforming.

“The successful conversion of sunlight into RF energy in a lightweight and scalable architecture is a significant step forward in delivering the technology building blocks to achieve the Arachne mission,” said Jay Patel, vice president, remote sensing programs business unit, Northrop Grumman. “We are helping to deliver a pioneering capability that can provide a strategic advantage to our forces around the globe.”

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Air Force Makes Breakthrough in Space-Based Solar Power