Recent technology advances for the stretched lens array (SLA), a space solar array offering state of the art performance at low cost and ultra-light mass

The stretched lens array (SLA) is a unique, ultra-light, high-performance space concentrator array. SLA is also modular, scalable, adaptable, and mass-producible. SLA can be configured as either a conventional rigid-panel solar array wing (near term, low risk, conservative), or as a flexible-blanket solar array wing (longer term, higher risk, higher power, higher performance metrics). The SLA concept was introduced in a paper at the 28th PVSC, the initial development of SLA was described at the 29th PVSC, and ground test results from an automatically deploying subscale rigid-panel SLA wing were presented at the 30th PVSC. In the past 1 1/2 years, many important technology advances have been made for SLA. In addition, a long-term technology roadmap has been generated for SLA, showing a path to MW-class arrays with 1,000 W/kg specific power. Recent SLA technology advances and the roadmap to unprecedented performance metrics are described below.