Flight of the Pico Satellite Solar Cell Testbed (PSSC Testbed) Space Experiment

摘要

The primary mission of the PSSC Testbed is to provide space flight data on two types of advanced solar cells, XTJ and ZTJ, produced by the two U.S. solar cell manufacturers, Spectrolab and Emcore, respectively. Since the deployment of the spacecraft during mission STS-126 by space shuttle Endeavor on November 29, 2008, the satellite has provided regular measurements on both types of solar cells (Figure 1). The PSSC Testbed is designed to measure the current and voltage (I-V) characteristics of the four solar array mounted on each of the four sides of the spacecraft with the on-board electronics. Each solar array consists of four cells; two cells in series and two series in parallel. Individual solar array has its own dedicated current/voltage characteristics measurement electronics. Prior to measurement, an ideal diode for each individual solar array will be turned off to isolate the solar array from the spacecraft power bus.