Multiple factor analytical performance assessment model of solar cell array electrical behavior for low-orbit spacecraft

Abstract

ABSTRACT The solar cell array is the primary source of power for low-orbit spacecraft systems. It is particularly important and challenging to develop a solar cell array model considering multiple factors for assessing the electrical performance of the array. A multiple factor analytical performance assessment model of solar cell array electrical behavior is established for low-orbit spacecraft. The model considers performance degradation of the solar cell array caused by the low-orbit environment, including illumination conditions and temperature. The established model can automatically generate electricity depending on whether it enters or exits a shadow. As the representative of electrical behavior, I-V curves of the solar cell array under different conditions are obtained, and the output capability of the solar cell array under various conditions is simulated using this model. Through comparison of laboratory data and on-orbit data (R2 is 0.976 and 0.958, and RMSE is 0.003 and 0.609, respectively), it indicates that the established model has correctly taken the influence of the low-orbit environment into account. It can be concluded that the established model is effective for characterizing the electrical behavior of the solar cell array and can be applied to system-level simulations and on-orbit performance assessment of low-orbit spacecraft.