Article

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Title

Analysis of design of spacecraft solar arrays

Authors

^1,3Z.A. Kazantsev, ^1,3A.M. Eroshenko, ³L.A. Babkina, ^2,3A.V. Lopatin

Organizations

¹JSC «Academician M. F. Reshetnev» Information Satellite Systems»
Zheleznogorsk, Krasnoyarsk region, Russian Federation
²Federal Research Center for Information and Computational Technologies SB RAS
Krasnoyarsk, Russian Federation
³Reshetnev Siberian State University of Science and Technology
Krasnoyarsk, Russian Federation

Abstract

Solar arrays supply electrical power to spacecraft equipment and also provide charging of electrochemical batteries used in the shadow sections of the orbit. Photovoltaic converters of light energy of solar radiation form the basis of the solar battery. Their principle of operation is based on the phenomenon of the photoelectric effect. The article provides an overview of the development of solar cells and the classification of modern designs of solar cells for spacecraft. The review considers stationary and deployable solar batteries used both on the first spacecraft and on space stations. The classification of solar cell designs is made taking into account their characteristic features. These features are the rigidity of the supporting structure, the method of placement in the starting position and the method of orientation towards the light source. The classification covered rigid panel solar arrays, flexible substrate solar panels, inflatable solar arrays, self-expanding solar arrays, and solar concentrator panels. In each design group of this classification, corresponding examples of solar cells are presented. The presented review and classification makes it possible to track trends in the development of solar array designs for spacecraft.

Keywords

solar array, spacecraft, mechanical device

References

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For citing this article

Kazantsev Z.A., Eroshenko A.M., Babkina L.A., Lopatin A.V. Analysis of design of spacecraft solar arrays // Spacecrafts & Technologies, 2021, vol. 5, no. 3, pp. 121-136. doi: 10.26732/j.st.2021.3.01

This Article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0).