also impose a significant time limitation on the relay link visibility, and hence on power beaming duty cycle/perfonnance. Of the three assumptions noted above, the most limiting is the fixed orientation of the SunTewer's transmitter array. Emplacement of additional relay satellites distributed in orbital position is necessary to buy back duty cycle and ground site coverage. Figure 4-6 MEO SunTower Ground Track Over One Day Figure 4-6 shows the daily ground track of a MEO SunTower in a 6,000 km altitude orbit at 30° inclination. The ascending node equatorial crossings shift westward in geographic longitude by 57° per orbit. At the rate of 6.3 orbits per day, the ground track “walks” eastward by about 17° per day, Le. Figure 4-7 Accessible Swath Widths for Second Orbit
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