Development of amorphous silicon film solar arrays formed by centrifugal forces
- Paper number
IAC-05-C3.2.03
- Author
Prof. Melnikov Vitaly, Measuring Equipment Reseach and Prodaction Association, Russia
- Year
2005
- Abstract
A major challenge of this study is to justify the advantages, development phases and design features of advanced amorphous silicon solar arrays. The status of efforts in developing the framed and frameless solar arrays for spacecraft is analyzed. Methods and results of parametric analysis of power systems for small and medium satellites, Martian Mission, and space-based power plant of 1GW are addressed. When developing new high-performance solar arrays through combining the advanced technologies of large space structures formed by centrifugal forces and recent advantages in the amorphous silicon thin film power generating technology the power system parameters could be greatly improved with respect of their application for spacecraft of different sizes. Based on the design and engineering experience gained from the development and accommodation of space experiment "Znamya 2" ,04.02.1993, the stowage pattern and the deployment mechanism design are proposed to deploy a solid width of SA against that employed for "Znamya 2" "split" structure of the solar sail. The structure advantages are explained and peculiar features are defined in reference to a solar array. Different schemes for the SA kinetic moment compensation on a small spacecraft are considered. The problem is solved of how to simulate mathematically the dynamics of deployment from a stowed configuration of two counter-rotating systems and optimize conductors through electromagnetic interaction of currents to favor the SA surface forming. The development of physical-chemical basis for resource-capable connections in SA is under way. A "cobweb" scheme for the SA array is proposed to be made of kevlar filaments that would give the ability to employ the SA photovoltaic converters without their loading and to solve the problem of the substrate and power generating semiconductor layer multi-module characteristics, as well as the problem of creep when using the polymer substrate. Hardware has been developed and manufactured for two space experiments for accommodation in a 1000 km orbit: - to study the amorphous silicon SA degradation in real environment of the majority of communication satellites, "Tatiana", started 20.01.2005; - to deploy in orbit of a solid circular film SA by centrifugal forces. The space experiments are planned for 2005. The possibility to achieve record-high performance, cost-saving because the rigid frame that has never created the space structure scale is not needed , the problem of how to deploy reliably the framed structure from its stowed configuration and how to operated it further - all these features show the apparent advantages of the frameless structures against the framed analogs. The study has been done with the support of the International Science and Technology Center, Project 2620.
- Abstract document