Description: NASA needs lower cost solar arrays with high performance for a variety of missions. While high efficiency, space-qualified solar cells are in themselves costly, > $250/Watt, there is considerable additional cost associated with the parts and labor needed to integrate the Photovoltaic Assembly. The standard approach has evolved with only minor changes, sacrificing cost because of risk aversion. Integration cost can be as much as double the bare cell cost – i.e. >$500/watt. Dramatic cost savings can be realized through manufacturing engineering of more efficient automated assembly processes. If the design of the Photovoltaic Assembly could be modified to be compatible with conventional and automatable electronic assembly and terrestrial solar panel assembly approaches, there could be considerable cost savings. There are many additional benefits with automation which include higher quality and consistency. This can reduce failures, increase production throughput, speed turnaround, and improve overall reliability. Cost and quality improvements can be realized on both thin and rigid arrays, increasing current capabilities, and enabling future high power missions. The benefits of automation are enhanced by the need for high power generation in support of energy intensive space missions. A 300kW array at $500/W would cost $150M just for the solar cell integrated array panels. A $150/W cell integration cost reduction would translate into savings of $45M, before considering the immediate and substantial benefits in consistency, reliability, and schedule. The Phase I effort demonstrates feasibility of a low cost array using an automated and integrated manufacturing approach, performed on an automation friendly solar cell, verified with environmental testing, and is used to predict array cost for a high power mission. Meeting these technical objectives will demonstrate reduced cost and justify a Phase II SBIR program preparing for a flight experiment.

Benefits: Low cost, lightweight, high power solar arrays with compact packaging is a key enabling technology for meeting a variety of NASA missions such as solar electric propulsion, outer planetary, or crew exploration missions. The automated THINS ZTJ approach is an ideal technology for meeting these needs, projecting a specific power improvement of greater than a factor of 3X, and an improved volumetric efficiency when rolled for launch by a factor of 4X compared to today's solar arrays. The approach additionally prepares for the low cost integration of IMM solar cells as they become economically feasible. Such improvements are needed to allow a high power system up to 300kW to be packaged into a single launch, avoiding expensive and risky on-orbit assembly. The THINS Array also has the advantages of improved electromagnetic shielding because of the continuity of coverglass materials and the ability to create a continuous grounded, shielded enclosure. Such a technology can be enabling for high performance electric and magnetic field instruments often used on NASA spacecraft, such as THEMIS, MMS, and Maven. (MMS solar arrays, in fact, have incorporated superstrate technology previously developed on a NASA Phase III SBIR from Vanguard).

Commercial spacecraft have trended towards higher power in recent years, with spacecraft prime power requirements growing from 5kW to over 20kW. Additional power provides additional functionality for military spacecraft, and additional revenue for commercial spacecraft, but is limited in practice to the 20kW level by the maximum achievable power that can be obtained with conventional rigid panel planar technology. The implementation of a low mass, low volume, low cost array has application to a broad spectrum of military and commercial users who currently are restricted by the mass, volume, and cost of conventional approaches.