Value chain · CLM-1321
In plain terms
The 2012 design study for SPS-ALPHA put the weight of its 2 gigawatt satellite at about 35,000 tonnes, about half of it in the transmitter.
The claim as recorded
The SPS-ALPHA NIAC Phase 1 report's preliminary mass statement for its baseline case DRM_5 / Case_1, which the same page calls "the fully commercial, recurring SPS-ALPHA case @ 2 GW power delivered to terrestrial markets", gives a "Total Platform Hardware Mass" of 34,813,882 kg, of which the WPT modules are 18,020,693 kg and the HexBus modules 9,438,210 kg.
Evidence behind this: The concept author's own NIAC Phase 1 report; a preliminary mass statement for a design that has not been built.
Scope and limits
A preliminary design mass statement, not a built or weighed system. "Platform hardware" includes an initial propellant load of 425,600 kg and excludes any construction or transport equipment. The per-module masses are averages ("Ave. Unit Mass"). The report's own sensitivity studies, on the same page and after it, vary this mass; CLM-1219 (low confidence) reports one such cut and is conf LOW. A Virtus Solis re-normalisation of an SPS-ALPHA-based design gives 6,877 t for 2,000 MW (CLM-0671, NOT CONFIRMED), about one fifth of this figure; the two cannot both describe the same design, and this record is the design's own statement.
What it assumes
No assumptions are recorded against this claim.
Where it comes from
PDF p.73, render, Table 7-7 "Summary of Preliminary Mass Statement of SPS-ALPHA DRM_5 / Case_1": "Total Platform Hardware Mass (kg) 34,813,882"; module rows (number of modules; total mass kg): HexBus 392,341; 9,438,210, Interconnects 2,353,662; 2,353,662, HexFrame Structures 18,444; 1,002,186, TFRP 4,305; 340,095, SPG 383,619; 3,068,952, WPT 383,419; 18,020,693, Propulsion & Attitude Control 200; 115,600, MPPR Arms 4,888; 48,884, Initial Propellant Load 200; 425,600; the masses sum to 34,813,882 (counts read at a zoom 4 render 2026-10-10). Eight are module types; the ninth line is the initial propellant load. Section 7.3, same page: "DRM_5's baseline case (D5/C1) as the starting point - i.e., the fully commercial, recurring SPS-ALPHA case @ 2 GW power delivered to terrestrial markets" (the page prints an en dash after "point"; written here as a hyphen).
Basis: kg of platform hardware for the 2 GW delivered baseline case (DRM_5 / Case_1)
Related records
- Answers question
- QST-018 not published in this releaseQST-022 not published in this release
Cite this
energyaperture.com/c/clm-1321
CLM-1321, Energy Aperture, as of 2012-09.
Connected records
Other published records linked to this one. A list, not a judgement.
- Also from SRC-027
- CLM-0188 (low confidence)A 2012 NASA-funded concept study shows its own cost estimate falling from about $3.26 per kWh for a small near-term system down to about 9...CLM-1218SPS-ALPHA's design catches sunlight with a few thousand units of large, thin plastic-film mirrors. The mirrors are grouped into several...CLM-1219 (low confidence)SPS-ALPHA's mirrors concentrate sunlight about three times on the array. The report estimates that five times would save almost 15,000...CLM-1220The receiving site sends a guide signal up to the satellite, and the satellite's many small transmitters use it to line up their beams on...