Intermediate report on development of high voltage solar array in LEO plasma environment

Abstract

Summary form only given. The use of high power in future space missions calls for high voltage power generation and transmission to minimize the energy loss during power transmission and the cable mass. In order to promote industrial use of low earth orbit (LEO), such as manufacturing, sightseeing, or power generation, the power of a large LEO platform after the International Space Station (ISS) will soon reach the level of MW. In principle, the transmission voltage scales to the square root of the power to be delivered. Therefore, in order to realize a MW-class space platform, the power must be delivered at 400 volts at least. In order to realize 400 volts operation in LEO, arcing caused by interaction between the spacecraft and the surrounding LEO plasma must be overcome (D.E. Hastings et al, J. Spacecraft and Rockets, 29, pp. 538-554, 1992). The purpose of the present paper is to report the results of laboratory experiments carried out to develop a solar array capable of generating electricity at 400 V in LEO plasma environment. The development effort is carried out to suppress the inception of arcing completely.