In-orbit performance of Hughes HS 393 solar arrays

Author

Gelb, Steven W. ; Goldhammer, Leland J.

Author_Institution

Hughes Aircraft Co., El Segundo, CA, USA

fYear

1991

fDate

7-11 Oct 1991

Firstpage

1429

Abstract

The synchronous orbit performance of the HS393 spacecraft solar arrays employing K4 3/4 and K7 solar cells is presented and compared with ground-based computer predictions for orbital durations greater than two years. The HS393 spacecraft discussed include the Japan Communications Satellite Company JCSAT-1 and JCSAT-2, and the Hughes Communications SBS-6. The in-space performance data indicate fixed solar panel bus 1 power degradation of 6.4% for JCSAT-1 after 26 months in orbit, 2.6% for JCSAT-2 after 16 months in orbit, and 2.0% for SBS-6 after six months in orbit. The predicted output of each of these solar arrays is within 2.5% of the actual output as obtained through telemetry data

Keywords

aerospace testing; semiconductor device testing; solar cell arrays; solar cells; space vehicle power plants; Hughes HS 393; JCSAT-1; JCSAT-2; SBS-6; aerospace testing; power degradation; solar cell arrays; space power; spacecraft; synchronous orbit performance; Aircraft manufacture; Artificial satellites; Assembly; Electric variables measurement; Extraterrestrial measurements; Photovoltaic cells; Predictive models; Pulse measurements; Space vehicles; Xenon;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, 1991., Conference Record of the Twenty Second IEEE

Conference_Location

Las Vegas, NV

Print_ISBN

0-87942-636-5

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/PVSC.1991.169441

Filename

169441