Wireless Power Transfer from Space to Earth

Microwaves have typically been used for communications and radar, but nowadays are given much attention to energy transfer applications. This paper describes microwave power transfer from a satellite to Earth that is visualized as a solar power satellite system (SPSS). After the system configuration is explained, unique engineering features are presented. Then, some contributions made by Japanese community are introduced, focusing on microwave and antenna engineering. As SPSS will handle high power levels at microwave frequency, and so components should be mass-produced to reduce the cost, then we need to shift our paradigm on the technology involved. Finally, the roadmap to a commercial SPSS is discussed. key words: solar power satellite, high power microwave, beam control, mass-production, spacetenna, rectenna