• Larger antennas, smaller rectennas, smaller power increments per rectenna, without exceeding present ionospheric and sidelobe limits (23 and 0.01 mW/cm2, respectively); • Possibly lower costs per equivalent satellite; • Higher transmission efficiency than reference Gaussian system; • Fewer satellites reduce geosynchronous spacing problems (12 multiple beam satellites with an antenna at each end are equivalent to 60 reference satellites); • Compatible with the present retrodirective phase control system. Disadvantages of multiple beam systems are [1] increased thermal requirements over a small portion of the antenna area, and 12] the need for mechanical randomization of subarray sizes to inhibit grating lobes which could impact the antenna assembly. Also an optimized single beam system could have a lower cost if the ionospheric limit was increased above 23 mW/cm2. It is recommended that an optimized multiple beam microwave system replace the Gaussian single beam reference system. The exact number of beams could vary, depending upon the electricity baseload requirements for a particular geographical area. A representative scenario might be an SPS satellite with four beams as shown in Fig. 10.
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