19 decrease is higher for the planar array concept because requires more launches to deploy and assemble. Figure 12. Percent Decrease in LCOE from Baseline 4.1.3 Electric Propulsion Orbital Transfer Scholars have proposed using solar electric propulsion (EP) for orbital transfer from LEO to GEO as a cost saving approach. In this sensitivity analysis, 1720kg of propulsion system mass is allocated per 10,000kg of payload mass. We increased total hardware costs by 17.2% to account for the additional manufacturing cost of EP units. This approach takes advantage of launch vehicle reusability while eliminating refueling launches, lowering LCOE 63% for RD1 and 69% for RD2. Assuming EP specifications in line with NASA’s NEXT-C electric ion thruster (NASA, 2023), travel time from LEO to GEO increases from one month to four. Conducting orbital transfer with EP significantly reduces GHG emissions due to lower number of launches and fewer launch vehicles manufactured. The emissions decrease is about 54% for RD1 and 63% for RD2, potentially bringing those systems in line with terrestrial wind without storage.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTU5NjU0Mg==