Company in California. According to UAH, The SEDS tether has a mass of 23 kg including 46 km of tether. For the Powersat demonstrator, just a few kilometres would be needed, reducing the total mass to around 4-5 kg. Indeed, a mini-tether system is available for such an application from the Tether Applications Company. Total cost of the SEDS tether is about $50,000. The TSS and UAH experiments would provide timely verification of the tether approach for the Powersat demonstrator. In addition, studies have been conduct be Alenia. under the title “Tethered System Technology,” for using two or three ASAP positions for deployment of a tether satellite as shown in Figure 5.1-8. [31] This study was conducted for ESTEC as a proposal for the In-Orbit Technology Demonstration Programme. Potentially, the Powersat demonstration might provide an opportunity to conduct some of the planned experiments for the TST demonstrator. This example shows the high degree of synergism between using the Powersat as a technology test-bed and the microwave transmission experiment itself. (See section 4.3.) Rectenna Discussion The large area made possible through use of an inflatable structure enables a Powersat demonstration over a considerable distance as discussed earlier. The concept outlined here was proposed by Oerlikon-Contraves and is designated the Planar Instrument Carrier (PIC), and is discussed in detail in the Appendix. Already, it is important to note that Oerlikon-Contraves has built a PIC-type toroidal structure (Figure 5.1-9) measuring 5.6 m in diameter and weighing some 2.5 kg, ignoring the inflation and other equipment. Oerlikon-Contraves has estimated that a PIC rectenna as large as 12.5 m in diameter could be packaged, together with the inflation equipment and relay transmitter, within a volume of a single ASAP location. The total mass of the rectenna on its ASAP would be very approximately 25-27.5 kg. Mass is not a
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