Validation of a Large Retrodirective CASSIOPeiA Solar Power Satellite Antenna Array

The CASSIOPeiA Solar power satellite (SPS) helix antenna array concept has been shown to provide a viable concept with no mechanical rotational joints required between the photovoltaic cells and the antenna. The important feature of the CASSIOPeiA antenna is that it can provide 360 degrees azimuth electronic beam steering, pointing a highly directional beam, to a rectenna farm on earth. Modelling of the CASSIOPeiA antenna to date has only included setting up pre-defined phase/amplitude distributions across the array. These results are promising but to model the array for retrodirective operation, the phase distributions across the array need to be determined from phase conjugation of a received pilot tone. This mode of operation, to our knowledge, has never been theoretically validated within the triple dipole beam steering configuration of a large CASSIOPeiA array. In this paper we present the first simulated validation of a 10,000 unit cell (100 × 100) CASSIOPeiA array as a retrodirective antenna, providing a well-defined steerable main beam and good sidelobe suppression.