The ANOD Experiment for Long-Term Tests of Solar Panels in the lnterball-2 Satellite Orbit

Electromagnetically clean solar arrays on the Interball-1 and lnterball-2 spacecraft were developed and produced at the NPO Kvant (Moscow). One of them (the flight variant) was tested in an anechoic chamber at CNES (Toulouse, France). It was found that magnetic noise caused by it is by 30-40 dB lower than the standard EMC requirements. For further improvement of the technology and for testing it under real flight conditions, five small experimental solar arrays with various coatings, methods of connection of the photosensitive cells, etc. were installed on the lnterball-2 satellite. The current and voltage of these arrays were systematically measured during the flight. The degradation of efficiency, in spite of the considerable radiation dose in the satellite orbit, was considerably less than for standard arrays in similar orbits.