Analysis and Verification of the Effect of Space Debris on the Output Power Decline of Solar Array

Abstract

As a large component directly exposed to space environment, the solar array suffers from the impact of space debris very significantly. The cumulative effect of space debris will lead to the performance decline of solar cells. The effect of space debris on the decline of output power of the solar array is often accompanied by abnormal attitude. This article takes the decline of output power of the solar array of a medium-high orbit satellite as an example, the main factors affecting the decline of output power of the solar array are analyzed. Based on the analysis of satellite attitude telemetry data and the verification results of simulation experiments, the effect of space debris impact on solar array and its mechanism are analyzed in detail. The influence of space debris on the output power of solar array is highly correlated with the attitude of the satellite, therefore, it is necessary to analyze the output power of solar array and satellite attitude data for guiding the design of solar array, as well as for on-orbit monitoring and early warning.