The Photovoltaic Engineering Testbed: Design options and trade-offs

The Photovoltaic Engineering Testbed (PET) is a space-exposure test facility to fly on the International Space Station to calibrate, test, and qualify advanced solar cell types in the space environment. The purpose is to reduce the cost of validating new technologies and bringing them to spaceflight readiness by measuring them in the in-space environment. This paper reviews engineering options considered for flying PET on the International Space Station, and presents the current status of development.