NTT's beam shaping technology and Mitsubishi Heavy's light-receiving technology were combined to improve the efficiency of laser wireless power transmission.
The laser beam was diffused by a homogenizer in the receiving booth to ensure a uniform beam was applied to the receiving panel, which was constructed from silicon photovoltaic devices.
In the experiment, a laser beam with an output of 1035 watts was generated, and a diffraction optical element was used to control the shape and phase of the beam.
The experiment proposed a beam shaping method to equalize intensity distribution over long distances.
A diffraction optical element was utilized to optimize the design of the beam to achieve the intended intensity distribution at the 1-kilometer point.
The experiment successfully achieved an output of 152 watts of power from a 1 kilowatt laser beam over a distance of 1 kilometer.
Compact active antennas for electronic beam steering rely on highly efficient power amplifiers with high linearity.
In mid-1977 Grumman engineers attempted to roll form a graphite/polyethersulfone laminate using aluminum beam tooling and experienced destructive results.
Grumman Aerospace proposed an automated aluminum alloy beam-building machine and received NASA funding for initial work including a ground test unit to demonstrate automatic beam construction.
SCAFEDS design fed cross members into the machine and attached them to beams via spotwelding and used a beam cutoff mechanism to sever completed beams from the beam builder.
Grumman studied modifying its aluminum beam builder tooling in mid-1977 to form composite beams and initially attempted to roll form a graphite/polyethersulfone laminate using existing tooling.
Grumman studied composite materials while completing development of its aluminum beam builder and evaluated how to modify the machine to produce composite beams.
Grumman Aerospace proposed an aluminum beam builder to automatically construct large space structures and received NASA funding for initial work including a ground test unit.
The Beam Builder demonstration unit used off-the-shelf components while a proposed flight version would use flight-qualified, higher-reliability parts and operate in vacuum with far less power.
Grumman built a ground demonstration Beam Builder unit that was delivered to NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama in 1978 for testing.
The Beam Builder feed system used three spools of aluminum alloy, two mounted on each side and a third on top, with material 16.2 centimeters (6.375 inches) wide and 0.04 centimeters (0.016 inches) thick.
The Grumman Beam Builder ground demonstration unit measured 4.26 by 3.35 by 2.74 meters (14 by 11 by 9 feet) and weighed 9,979 kilograms (22,000 pounds).
Truss structures and a Beam Builder mockup were mounted to a mockup Space Shuttle payload bay and tested in simulated spacesuits to evaluate payload bay clearance and astronaut maneuvering.
NASA selected a pierce-and-fold fastening system for further Beam Builder development because it required minimal energy, little or no maintenance, no additional material such as rivets or staples, and no continuous adjustment.
NASA conducted tests of Beam Builder-produced truss structures inside the Neutral Buoyancy Simulator at Marshall, a large water tank used to simulate weightlessness from 1968 to 1997.