Materials on the International Space Station-forward technology solar cell experiment

This paper describes the forward technology solar cell experiment (FTSCE), which is a space experiment built by the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) in collaboration with NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC), and the US Naval Academy (USNA) as part of the materials on the International Space Station (MISSE) program. The goal is to rapidly put current and future generation space solar cells on orbit and provide validation data for these technologies. Telemetry, command, control, and communication (TNC) for the FTSCE will be achieved through the Amateur Satellite Service using the PCSat2 system, which is an Amateur Radio system designed and built by the USNA. In addition to providing an off-the-shelf solution for FTSCE TNC, PCSat2 will provide a communications node for the Amateur Radio satellite system. The FTSCE and PCSat2 will be housed within the passive experiment container (PEC), which is an approximately 2 ft × 2 ft × 4 in. metal container built by NASA Langley Research Center (NASA LaRC) as part of the MISSE program. NASA LaRC has also supplied a thin film materials experiment that will fly on the exterior of the thermal blanket covering the PCSat2. The PEC is planned to be transported to the ISS on a Shuttle flight. The PEC will be mounted on the exterior of the ISS by an astronaut during an extravehicular activity (EVA). After nominally 1 year, the PEC will be retrieved and returned to Earth. This paper presents the design of the experiment, the electrical data measured on the experiment solar cells, and the results of environmental testing of the system.