{
  "patent_number": "US 11623768",
  "country": "US",
  "title": "How Satellite Swarms Keep Their Solar Panels and Antennas Pointed Correctly",
  "original_title": "System for tracking solar energy",
  "summary": "A system for managing large satellite arrays in orbit that balances the need to point solar panels at the sun and antennas at the Earth while keeping the structure stable.",
  "what_it_does": "This patent describes a way to control a large, connected group of satellites in space that act as a single, giant antenna. Because these satellites are linked, they must constantly adjust their position to keep their solar panels facing the sun for power and their antennas facing the Earth for communication. The system uses a central computer to calculate the perfect angle for the entire array. It then uses actuators—like spinning wheels or magnets—to move the array while ensuring that the forces acting on it, such as gravity pulling on different parts of the structure, are perfectly balanced so the array doesn't spin out of control.",
  "what_it_does_not_cover": [
    "Does not cover individual, standalone satellites that are not mechanically coupled into a phased array.",
    "Does not cover systems that rely solely on ground-based control without an onboard processing device for orientation.",
    "Does not cover antenna systems that do not simultaneously optimize for both solar exposure and Earth-facing orientation."
  ],
  "filed": "2021-02-12",
  "granted": "2023-04-11",
  "expires": null,
  "status": "active",
  "holder": "AST and Science LLC",
  "holder_url": "https://patentbrief.org/company/ast-and-science-llc",
  "inventors": [
    {
      "name": "Raymond J. Sedwick",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/raymond-j-sedwick"
    },
    {
      "name": "Adam H. Halperin",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/adam-h-halperin"
    }
  ],
  "times_cited": 1,
  "tags": [
    "telecommunications",
    "aerospace",
    "mechanical"
  ],
  "abstract": "An antenna system is configured for use in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) around Earth. The system has a plurality of antenna satellites coupled together to form a phased array. Each of the plurality of antenna satellites have an antenna body with an antenna and a solar cell. A processing device determines an orientation of the plurality of antenna satellites and position the phased array in the orientation based on an analysis of the solar cell of the antenna bodies facing the sun, the antenna of the antenna bodies facing the Earth, and maintaining a torque equilibrium of the phased array.",
  "url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/11623768/super-heavy-booster",
  "markdown_url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/11623768/super-heavy-booster/md",
  "google_patents_url": "https://patents.google.com/patent/US11623768",
  "relatedPatents": []
}