Evaluation end-of-life power generation of a satellite solar array

Knowing the power generated by of solar arrays in a space missions shall satisfy mission requirements; prediction of the power generated by a solar array used in a space mission is very important and necessary. In this research, a detailed design description and necessary considerations for solar panels utilized in a specific space mission is presented. All sources of losses and degradation of solar panels are fully taken into account. This research emphasizes on investigation, analysis and verification of a manufactured solar assembly for a satellite before launch. Solar panels’ generated power should be estimated at the end of the mission. For this purpose, radiation values and temperature operating range are specified for the mission. Panels’ temperature operating rate is determined through considering a simple model and different spins for the satellite. Mission end-of-life 1 MeV equivalent dose is calculated by SPENVIS suite software. Finally, a comprehensive novel approach is introduced to investigate the electrical behavior of the solar panels. This approach can be implemented in MATLAB environment to obtain output power characteristics of the solar panels for each specific mission. The results are in full accordance with the mission requirements either in beginning-of-life or end-of-life. Therefore, the power prediction of the designed solar array for the mentioned satellite completely satisfies its mission requirements.

Research highlights
► We present detailed design description and necessary considerations for solar panels utilized in a specific space mission.
► All sources of losses and degradation of the solar panels are fully taken into account.
► We introduce a comprehensive novel approach to investigate the electrical behavior of the solar panels.
► We use a simple model to calculate the operating temperature range of the solar panels.
► We also calculate Mission End-of-Life electrone fluence using SPENVIS.