Three Hundred Fifty Volt Photovoltaic Power Generation in Low Earth Orbit

摘要

A nanosatellite, HORYU-Ⅱ, weighing only 7.1 kg achieved the highest photovoltaic power generation in orbit, at 350 V, breaking the previous record from the International Space Station, at 160 V, by more than a factor of two. This high-voltage experiment is suitable for a micro-anosatellite where the high risk associated with the use of high voltages is acceptable. Using series-connected micro solar cells, the satellite can carry out high-voltage experiments in space. The high-voltage solar array developed for HORYU-Ⅱ is suitable for other scientific experiments that make use of high voltages, such as electric propulsion, spacecraft charging, etc., onboard a micro-/ nanosatellite. It is free from the electromagnetic noise associated with high-voltage dc/dc converters and robust enough to operate for a short time (HORYU-Ⅱ has already been operating high-voltage solar arrays for more than 50 h) in orbit. The experiments onboard HORYU-Ⅱ are still ongoing, including an experiment to demonstrate the effectiveness of arc mitigation design solar arrays. After enough data have been accumulated, those results will be presented in the future.