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Amirmohammad Shahriyari

A Conceptual Approach to Deploying Laser Power Transmission Technologies in Space Infrastructure

This work has received financial support from "Cátedra Televés en Diseño Microelectrónico" (TSI-069100-2023-0010) by the PERTE Chip, Secretaría de Estado de Telecomunicaciones e Infraestructuras Digitales, Ministerio de Asuntos Económicos y Transformación Digital and has been co-funded by the European Union-NextGenerationEU.

rePowerSiC has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe under grant agreement N 101160868. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or EIC. Neither the European Union nor the EIC can be held responsible for them.

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Outline

  • Wireless Power Transmission (WPT)
  • Types of WPT
  • Laser Power Transmission (LPT)
  • Recent Advancement of LPT
  • LPT Challenges and Future Prospective
  • Conclusion

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rePowerSiC has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe under grant agreement N 101160868.

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Wireless Power Transmission (WPT)

  • Wireless energy transfer for space applications
  • WPT overcomes some limitations of traditional power systems
    • Photovoltaic
    • Thermoelectric
    • Nuclear Power

Y. Zheng et al., "Wireless laser power transmission: Recent progress and future challenges," Space Solar Power and Wireless Transmission, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 17-26, 2024/06/01/ 2024.

A. Baraskar, Y. Yoshimura, S. Nagasaki, and T. Hanada, "Space solar power satellite for the Moon and Mars mission," Journal of Space Safety Engineering, vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 96-105,

2022/03/01/ 2022.

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rePowerSiC has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe under grant agreement N 101160868.

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Types of WPT

Factor

Microwave Power Transmission (MPT)

Laser Power Transmission (LPT)

Beam Focus

Wide beam (10-100 m)

Very narrow beam (1-2 m)

Divergence Angle

1–10 ◦

1µrad

Receiver Size

Large rectenna arrays (1–3 km diameter, GW scale)

Small PV arrays (up to 10 m², large scale)

Atmospheric Window

2–5 GHz (5–12.45 cm)

780–1100 nm

Interference

Communications & radar

Minimal electromagnetic interference issues

Y. Zheng et al., "Wireless laser power transmission: Recent progress and future challenges," Space Solar Power and Wireless Transmission, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 17-26, 2024/06/01/ 2024

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rePowerSiC has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe under grant agreement N 101160868.

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LPT Space Applications

Application

Description

Benefit of LPT

Example / Mission

Satellite & Space Station Power

Continuous power for satellites in LEO, GEO

Operates during eclipses

JAXA SSPS, NASA DSOC

Lunar Surface Operations

Energy supply for instruments

Continuous power during dark region

NASA Lunar Power Beaming Mission

Space-Based Solar Power (SBSP)

Space solar energy beamed to Earth or orbit

Weather-free energy delivery

JAXA SBSP concept

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rePowerSiC has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe under grant agreement N 101160868.

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Recent Advancement of LPT

  • Space Solar Power Satellite/Station Research by (JAXA)

Category

Details

Accomplished Developments

  • High-precision beam steering (1 μrad accuracy) using Fast Steering Mirrors.
  • 2012–2013: ground-test (500 m) using Continues-Wave fiber lasers at 1070 nm.

​

Ongoing/Future Developments

  • Tower-based tests (200 m) for space-to-ground simulation
  • Output up to 500 W.

D. Goto, "The overview of JAXA laser energy transmission R&D activities and the orbital experiments concept on ISS-JEM," in International Conference on Space Optical Systems and Applications (ICSOS), 2014, vol. 5, p. 2. https://www.kenkai.jaxa.jp/eng/research/ssps/ssps-lssps.html

​

​

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rePowerSiC has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe under grant agreement N 101160868.

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Recent Advancement of LPT

  • Space Solar Power Satellite/Station Research by (JAXA)

Parameter

Details

System

Mother satellite, Daughter satellite

PV Arrays Size

70 m2

Laser Conversion efficiency

40–60%

Output Power

~6.36 kW delivered at 900 km

A. Baraskar, "Verify the wireless power transmission in space using satellite to satellite system," International Journal on Emerging Technologies, vol. 12, no. 2, pp. 110-118, 2021.

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rePowerSiC has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe under grant agreement N 101160868.

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Recent Advancement of LPT

Category

Details

Accomplished Developments

  • 2015–2019: Power-beaming system design.
  • 2020–2023: Integration with Psyche spacecraft.
  • 2023 milestones: Deep-space laser link· UHD video from 31 M km.

Ongoing/Future Developments

  • 2024–2025: Deep Space Optical Communication extended testing at longer distances.

NASA Deep Space Optical Communications. https://www.nasa.gov/mission/deep-space-optical-communications-dsoc/

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  • National Aeronautics and Space Administration(NASA)

rePowerSiC has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe under grant agreement N 101160868.

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Recent Advancement of LPT

Parameter

Details

Laser Source (Emitter)

Solid-state AlGaAs/Ge quantum well

Wavelength

800 nm

Conversion Efficiency

50 % at 1368 W/m2

Laser Array Size

1-meter diameter

Optical Transmission

91.7 % efficiency

PV Receiver

AlGaAs PV cells

Receiver Size

1-meter diameter

PV Conversion Efficiency

50 %

Output Voltage

28V DC

G. A. Landis, "Engineering design study of laser power beaming for applications on the moon," in 28th Space Photovoltaic Research and Technology (SPRAT) Conference, 2024.

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  • National Aeronautics and Space Administration(NASA)

rePowerSiC has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe under grant agreement N 101160868.

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Recent Advancement of LPT

​

  • Mynaric
  • Condor Mk3 Optical Communications Terminal

​

Mynaric. "CONDOR Mk3." https://mynaric.com/products/space/condor-mk3/.

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Parameter

Details

Data Rate

0.313 to 2.5 Gbps

Link Distance

>6,500 km

Field of Regard

Azimuth: −175° to +175°

Elevation

−60° to +85° (Hyper-hemispherical)

Aperture Diameter

80 mm

Operational Wavelength

1553 / 1536 nm

rePowerSiC has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe under grant agreement N 101160868.

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Recent Advancement of LPT

  • High-efficiency high-Power laser beaming in-space systems based based on SiC

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Category

Details

Mission

Enable efficient, SiC-based laser power transfer for future space missions

Goals

Advance power delivery for space missions, operation in extreme environments

Vision

Deliver compact, precise, and scalable LPT systems ready for satellites

rePowerSiC has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe under grant agreement N 101160868.

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LPT Challenges

  • Low overall efficiency
    • Energy is lost during laser generation, transmission, and conversion.
  • Beam alignment challenges
    • Requires μrad-level precision to keep the laser on target in dynamic space environments.
  • Thermal management
    • High-power lasers generate significant heat that must be dissipated efficiently.

K. Jin and W. Zhou, "Wireless Laser Power Transmission: A Review of Recent Progress," IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, vol. 34, no. 4, pp. 3842-3859, 2019.

Y. Zheng et al., "Wireless laser power transmission: Recent progress and future challenges," Space Solar Power and Wireless Transmission, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 17-26, 2024/06/01/ 2024.

​

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  • Atmospheric effects
    • Turbulence, scattering, and absorption reduce performance in ground-to-space links.
  • High infrastructure cost
    • Building orbital stations, relay satellites, and receivers requires major investment.

rePowerSiC has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe under grant agreement N 101160868.

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LPT Future Prospects

  • Higher efficiency materials
    • Using wide bandgap semiconductors to boost electrical-to-optical conversion.
  • Scalable infrastructure
    • Orbital relay stations and modular SBSP systems for global energy delivery.
  • Extended space missions
    • Enabling power supply for lunar outposts, Mars habitats, and deep-space probes.
  • Terrestrial applications
    • Potential use in drones, robotics, IoT devices, and underwater communications.

K. Jin and W. Zhou, "Wireless Laser Power Transmission: A Review of Recent Progress," IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, vol. 34, no. 4, pp. 3842-3859, 2019.

Y. Zheng et al., "Wireless laser power transmission: Recent progress and future challenges," Space Solar Power and Wireless Transmission, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 17-26, 2024/06/01/ 2024.

​

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rePowerSiC has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe under grant agreement N 101160868.

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Conclusion

WPT is critical for future space missions, enabling power delivery beyond the limits of solar panels and batteries.

Laser Power Transmission offers high precision, compact receivers, and continuous energy delivery for satellites.

Recent global advancements prove feasibility but highlight challenges: efficiency, beam alignment, thermal control, and infrastructure cost.

Future vision: scalable LPT systems powering next-generation satellites, space-based solar power platforms for sustainable exploration.

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rePowerSiC has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe under grant agreement N 101160868.

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THANK YOU

A. Shahriyari

Amir.shahriyari@usc.es

This work has received financial support from "Cátedra Televés en Diseño Microelectrónico" (TSI-069100-2023-0010) by the PERTE Chip.

rePowerSiC has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe under grant agreement N 101160868.