SA PHOTONICS, LLC — Department of Defense SBIR Phase I: SB162-012

Description

Small satellites (like cubesats) are much faster to design and build, have much lower cost, and can be put into service faster than their larger counterparts. Nearly all satellites utilize some methodology for harvesting solar power but these methods do not produce energy when the satellite is in eclipse. To supplement the periodic down time of solar panels, SA Photonics has developed a system design that can operate when the satellite is eclipsed by the earth. Harvesting thermal energy from the sun and cooling aspects of deep space, SA Photonics has developed a Thermal based Energy harvesting Magnet Power Oscillator (TEMPO) for energy generation during the shadow portion of an orbit. The heart of the TEMPO system is a thermal based oscillator that repeated flexes an improved energy output piezoelectric spring. The TEMPO system can produce enough energy to supplement charging the satellites power system during the times when the solar panels are in the shadow of the earth.