3Cat-1, wireless energy transmission for nanosatellites

³Cat-1 is a nanosatellite platform used as a technology behaviour testbed in space, and that is as well an educational platform. The nanosatellite has been created at the NanoSat Lab, a joint initiative between UPC·Barcelona Tech and the Institute for Space Studies of Catalonia (IEEC).

Due to the small size of ³Cat-1 satellite, the project has to introduce several innovations in the communication architecture, a tiny design and ultra efficient energy management.

One of the experiments to be carried out on ³Cat-1 is the operation of a technology to transmit, wirelessly, energy to space. This is the PhD field of Elisenda Bou, who works along the UPC Barcelona Tech and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The goal of the project is to find out how plasma conditions at space affect wireless energy transmission under a modular satellite schema.

New versions of ³Cat-X nanosatellite platform are currently being developed by students. Some of the foreseen experiments will check out the behaviour of graphene under space conditions; solar cells designed to have good performance in space, and polymers commonly used in electronic components. Concerning satellite energy supply, another experiment will essay an approach that takes advantage of temperature gradient between the inside and outside the satellite to provide energy for on board communication modules.