Space solar arrays and concentrators

Abstract This paper presents some research activities conducted at the Centre Spatial de Liege (CSL) in the field of space solar arrays and concentration. With the new generation of high efficiency solar cells, solar concentration brings new insights for future high power spacecrafts. A trade-off study is presented in this paper. Two different trough concentrators, and a linear Fresnel lens concentrator are compared to rigid arrays. Thermal and optical behaviors are included in the analysis. Several technical aspects are discussed: • Off-pointing with concentrators induces collection loss and illumination non uniformity, reducing the PV efficiency. • Concentrator deployment increases the mission risk. • Reflective trough concentrators are attractive and already proven. Coating is made of VDA (Aluminum). A comprehensive analysis of PV conversion increase with protected silver is presented. • Solar concentration increases the heat load on solar cells, while the conversion efficiency is significantly decreasing at warm temperatures. To conclude, this paper will point out the new trends and the key factors to be addressed for the next generation of solar generators.