Recent Space PV Concentrator Advances: More Robust, Lighter, and Easier to TrackOver the past three years, the authors have collaborated on several significant advances in space photovoltaic concentrator technology, including a far more robust Fresnel lens for sunlight concentration, improved color-mixing features for the lens to minimize chromatic aberration losses for next-generation 4-junction and 6-junction IMM cells, a new approach to suntracking requiring only one axis of rotation even in the presence of large beta angles (e.g., +/- 50 deg), a new waste heat radiator made of graphene, with 80-90% reduction in mass, and a new platform for deployment and support on orbit (SOLAROSA). These patent-pending advances are described in this paper.
Document ID
20160005277
Acquisition Source
Glenn Research Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
O'Neill, Mark (Mark O’Neill, LLC Keller, TX, United States)
McDanal, A. J. (Mark O’Neill, LLC Keller, TX, United States)
Brandhorst, Henry (Carbon-Free Energy, LLC Auburn, AL, United States)
Schmid, Kevin (Deployable Space Systems Goleta, CA, United States)
LaCorte, Peter (Deployable Space Systems Goleta, CA, United States)
Piszczor, Michael (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Myers, Matt (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)