CASSIOPeiA in Detail
How does the UK's leading design work, and what are its strengths and open questions?
Chapter summary
CASSIOPeiA, developed by International Electric and now by Space Solar, arranges thousands of identical elements in a helical stack.
Key takeaways
- 1
Each element carries solar collectors on one side and a microwave transmitting surface on the other, and because the helix presents both sides as the satellite moves around Earth, the structure can face the sun and point at Earth at the same time without a large rotating joint.
- 2
The UK's Frazer-Nash study found it technically and economically viable at maturity; Space Solar completed a further design study, CASSiDi, in 2025 and plans an in-space demonstration by 2028.
- 3
Its strengths are modularity and the absence of moving joints; its open questions are mass, thermal management and assembly of a structure kilometres long.
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Concepts Compared: CASSIOPeiA, SPS-ALPHA, Tiles and Mirrors
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