3. EXAMPLE 1: COMMUNICATIONS SATELLITES The current generation of communications satellites might at first glance be considered an appropriate market for Powersats. given that comsats are by far the most common type of satellite launched today. Unlike all other satellites, comsats seem to have the advantage of being very similar, many in number and. importantly, located in essentially fixed positions relative to each other and the Earth. This is in contrast to Earth observation spacecraft which orbit the Earth in high inclination low Earth orbits or scientific satellites which have very specialised needs, as discussed in Section 1. It is possible to envisage a scenario (Figure 3-1) where a number of large Powersats are positioned in among the nearly 100 communications satellites in geosynchronous orbit, the majority of which (around 75%) are grouped over the US. the Atlantic Ocean and Europe. At the very minimum, three Powersats would be required, one being a back-up, to ensure total coverage and optimise the maximum distances over which the beam must travel. The comsats themselves could, for example, be equipped with a rectenna secured to one side of the satellite, and the other side would retain a solar array wing, albeit of much shorter length. (Figure 3-2) Assuming a very optimistic scenario in which 75 satellites are equipped with rectennas and could use the Powersats, a simple assessment of the economics is provided in Figure 3-3.
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