HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE

SOLAR GENERATOR DESIGN FOR A DECADE IN ORBIT

L. GERLACH, A. FOURNIER-SICRE, A FROMBERG S. KROEHNERT
ESNESTEC BRITISH AEROSPACE TELEFUNKEN SYSTEM TECHNIK
NOORDWMK BRISTOL WEDU
THE NETHERLANDS GREAT BRITAIN GERMANY
ABSTRACT
The Space Telescope Solar Array (STSA), which is
supplying t he power for the joint NASA / ESA
Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is the largest
flexible solar array built to date, carrying 48760
BSFR silicon cells. The double roll-out solar array
was successfully deployed in orbit on 25th April
1990. STSA is designed to survive at least 5 years
in low earth orbit (30,000 thermal cycles) and
will supply at least 4400W at 34V after four
years.
STSA had to, be designed to survive the
aggressive ATomic Oxygen (ATOX) environment.
This was achieved by t he development of an
ATOX resistant carrier substrate and of two
different types of ATOX resistant interconnectors.
A 10 Rcm BSFR solar cell with an extremely
smooth surface was developed to ensure a good
quality of the interconnector weld. The array is
protected against shadowing and hot spots by
solar cell shunt diodes. Thermal cycling was
performed up to 65,000 cycl es which
demonstrated that the lifetime of t he array
should be in the order of ten years.
The solar array deployment, which took place on
25th April 1990, consists of two phases. Firstly,
the solar arrays (initially latched parallel to the
body of the HST) are rotated by magnetic stepper
motors so that they lie perpendicular to the HST
(primary deployment). Secondly, the SAB's are
unrolled from the storage drum by bi-stem
booms at either side of each blanket which drive
a spreader bar at the end of the SAB's. The
storage drum and cushion roller (on which the
cushion is stowed during deployment) are also
driven during secondary deployment.
STSA is the first solar array designed for in-orbit
maintenance and replacement. Replacement of
t he solar arrays will have to take place at least
once during the fifteen year lifetime of the HST.
The solar arrays are secured to the telescope by a
manacle clamp which will be separated by
astronauts at the end of the solar array lifetime;
if necessary, manual overrides can be used for
stowing the secondary and primary deployment
mechanisms (SDM and PDM). The Second Space
Telescope Solar Array (STSA 2) which will be
UPPER LOWER
1 . INTRODUCTION
The Space Telescope Solar Array (STSA) is
supplying the power for the joint NASAIESA
Hubble Space Telescope (HST). The STSA is a
unique European development. Under the prime
responsibility of the European Space Agency,
British Aerospace and Telefunken Systemtechnik
have developed and built the largest flexible
solar generator to date. It consists of two double
roll-out solar array wings (Fig.1) which are
deployable and retractable with 48760 BSFR
silicon solar cells interconnected. Each wing is
equipped with two solar array blankets carrying
the solar cells which are protected from each
other by an embossed Kapton cushion whilst they
are stowed on a common storage drum.
+ v2
WING
LOWER
BLANKET
Figure 1: HST - Solar Array Config
LOWER
BLANKEl
su"
- v2
WING
UPPER
BLANKET
UPPER
BLANKET
uration
1308
0160-8371/90/0000-1308 $1.00 1990 IEEE
attached i n place of the existing array, is
currently under assembly and test in Europe.
STSA is designed to survive intact for at least five
years i n a 590km low earth orbit. This means
the solar arrays will have to withstand 30,000
thermal cycles between about +/- 100C in t he
presence of our aggressive atomic oxygen
environment (ATOX). STSA is required to deliver
at least 4.4kW of electrical power at 34 volts
after two years i n orbit.
This paper will first describe the layout of the
solar array blankets and substrate, then explain
tlie way i n which the design has been developed
to protect the SAB's against ATOX attack. The
solar cells and interconnectors ar e then
described, followed by the way in which the
array is protected against shadowing and finally
tlie lifetime verification of power output and
mechanical integrity is presented.
2 . FLEXIBLE BLANKET DESIGN AND
ELECTRICAL LAYOUT
Hach of the sol& array blankets is made up of 5
identical power generating elements, t he so-
called Solar Panel Assemblies
(SPA), an outer and an inner SBA OBA SPA
buffer (OBAJBA), a Drum Buffer
Assembly (DBA) for t he mech-
anical fixation to the stowage
drum, and a Spreader Bar
Assembly (SBA) for the mechan-
ical interface to the spreader bar
used to draw the blanket out of
1.
tlie drum. The basic substrate
for the flexible blanket consists
of a glass fibre/Kapton com-
pound. 48760 BSFR solar cells of
2cm x 4cm are bonded onto the
20 SPAs and provide the re-
quired power to the HST.
Each of the power-generating
SPAs are equipped with 3 solar
cell strings, each having 106
solar cells in series, two of them
with 8 single solar-cell rows in
parallel and one of them with 7
single cell rows in parallel. The
single cell rows for each string
are connected via MoAg tapping
bars i n groups of 14, 15 or 16
cells. Al l of these groups are
protected by shunt diodes which
are required to limit hot spot
temperatures due to undefined shadows and
possible broken solar cells to temperatures
below 140 deg.C To allow easy integration and
replacement if necessary, all panel assemblies
are interconnected via a piano hinge technique
using a stainless steel hinge rod.
The IBA acts also as electrical interface between
t he blanket and the solar array deployment
mechanism. On the IBA, the individual solar cell
strings are electrically connected by means of
75 micron thick silver foil strips to main and
redundant connections per SPA and are routed
to a flexible printed circuit board which serves
as interface to the harness attached to the
deployment mechanism. For power transfer
from the electrical strings to the IBA 6.3 cm
wide silver mesh strips are used. They are
contained within the flexible blanket substrate
and are connected through 'windows' to the bus
bars from the solar cell strings. Bridge pieces are
used for the electrical connections from SPA to
SPA across the hinge.
Data lines and power harnesses from the SPA'S
pass through the stowage drum via a flexible
harness which uncoils and then coils so that it is
wound in the opposite direction following
SPA SPA SPA SPA IBA DBA
Solar A m y Blanker Configuration (honl Side)
4 b
\
warCeHsbing hangemen1
6.45 m
' &id@ Piece
Wring Concept of Solar h y Blankel
Data Lines
Figure 2: Details of the solar array blanket
1309
deployment. Conventional wi r e harnesses
conduct power along the PDM and solar array
drive. Main and redundant paths are cross
strapped to improve reliability. During eclipse,
t he SAB's are protected from the HST by
blocking power diodes.
The STSA design is such that magnetic moments
from SPA's on opposing SAB's cancel each other
out. Power from the 20 SPA's are grouped into
seven electrical sections. Three SPA's are
allocated to each of the six HST batteries. The
remaining two SPA's drive the HST bus directly.
3. ATOMIC OXYGEN PROTECTION
Results from early space shuttle flights and more
recently from the recovered LDEF spacecraft
indicated that many materials used i n the initial
STSA desigh were susceptible to ATOX i n low
earth orbit. Of particular relevance, Kapton H
film showed a change in surface properties and
mass reduction and silver was shown to be ex-
tremely ATOX susceptible. Other materials, such
as silicone adhesives, were found not to be ATOX
susceptible.The SPA substrate is shown in t he
Figure 3 below. In essence, the 50 micron Ag-
Glass flbm fllled with DC93500
Adhesive (DP46971)
Kapton H
Adhesive (DP46971)
Silver Mesh
Adheslve (DP46971)
Ka tonH
Adieslve (DP46971
Glass fibre filled wi d DC935W
II thickness: 210 micron
Figure 3: Cross-section of SPA Substrate
mesh rear-side wiring is surrounded by a
symmetric sandwich of silicone adhesive, Kapton
H and glass fibre filled with DC93500 silicone
adhesive which makes it safe against ATOX
attacks. Special processes ensure that the 50
micron thin layers of DC93500 are completely
cured which was proven by thermal and
spectrometric investigations.
The outermost part of the cushion which would
be exposed to ATOX was protected by spraying
with a silicon adhesive. The treatment with
silicone introduced a further risk of sticking of
the blanket rearsides to each other and t he
blanket frontsides to the cushion. However,
substrate and cushion samples with various
interfaces were blocked for up to 1 year and at
temperatures up to 112OC under blanket tension
without measurable sticking. STSA deployed in
space, after 14 months in the stowed
configuration, with no sticking anomalies
observed.
Two types of solar cell interconnectors were
developed and qualified in the course of the
STSA program:
(i) a 20 micron silver interconnector with an
in-plane stress relief loop.
(protected from ATOX by a 1.5 micron gold
layer outside the welding area)
(ii) a silver plated molybdenum interconnector
with an out-of-plane stress relief loop
(5 micron Ag/0.5 micron Pt/
15 micron MoI0.5 micron PtJ5 micron Ag).
The AgAu interconnector was chosen for t he
shunt diodes. Molybdenum is not ATOX
suscep- tible, however, the silver and platinum
is required to provide a weldable interface for
the solar cell interconnection.
4 . SOLAR CELLS ASSEMBLY DESIGN
An extensive investigation has been performed
for the selection of the basic element, the solar
cell assembly (SCA). The SCA is a solar cell
equipped with an interconnector 100% covered
by a cover glass.
Base material
Base resistivity
Junct i on
Back surface field
Back side reflector
Contact system
Antireflective layer
Surface roughness
Silicon thickness
Di mensi ons
BOL SCA efficiency
SCA absorbtivity
SCA emissivity
- Crucible crown silicon
- 10 Ohm cm
- n-on-p shallow diffused
- p+ doping (boron ion
- Aluminium layer
- Ti(Pd)Ag multifinger
implantation)
grid
- TIOX
- < = I 5 microns
- 250 microns
- 20.8 mm x 40.2 mm
- 0.75 (unloaded)
- 0.83 (hcmispherical)
- 14% (IAMO, 25OC)
The surface roughness of 1.5 microns (0.0015mm) is
rcquired to ensure a good electrical contact to the solar
cell interconnector during the mission.
Tabl e 1: Solar Cell Characteristics
Material - Soft Boro-silicate base
glass (CMX) with
cerium dioxide
Antireflective layer - MgF2 (single layer)
Adhesive for cell bonding Silicon, DC93500 +
Pri mer
Di mensi ons - 21.0 mm x 40.5 mm
Thi cknes s - 150 microns
Tabl e 2: Cover Slide Characteristics
1310
Apart from ATOX resistivity and the required
electrical power (the solar cell has an efficiency
of 14%. BOL, 1 AMO, 2 5 T ) the SCA compound is
requested to survive at least 30,000 thermal
cycles between k 100C.
r , a ! welding relief joints
LJLU I. .. welding joints
Figure 4: Molybdenum Sol ar Cell I nt er -
connector (not to scale)
The thermal environment induces maximum
stress to ' the solar cell interconnectors and
welding joints on solar cell contacts. The effects
on interconnectors and on welds are quite
different in nature and must be considered
separately.
The stress on solar cell interconnectors is
imposed by the thermal movement of t he
individual components with different coefficients
of thermal expansion leading to variations, in the
solar cell/solar cell-gap with resultant 'kycling
stresses t he interconnector stress relief loop
area. A suitable interconnector design has been
developed.
0 25mm silicon solar cell
Figure 5: Cross-section through I nt er -
connected Solar Cell Assembly
Bonded onto t he Flexible
S u b s t r a t e
The stresses induced to welding joints on solar
cell P- and n- contacts are volume stresses
created by t he thermal interaction of different
materials, i.e. silicon, silver and/or molybdenum.
Stresses will be minimized by an adequate
thermal match (expansion coefficients) and by a
minimization of material mass, i.e. material
thickness and area of welding spot. The
extremely smooth solar cell surface with a
roughness of Rz $1.5 micron and a specially
optimized parallel-gap welding technology lead
to a very good welding integrity.
A Scanning Laser Acoustic Microscope (SLAM)
has been proven to be the best tool for
examinating or evaluating the quality of welding
spots and their degradation due to thermal
cycling. SLAM images before and after 30,000
thermal cycles have proven that there is a
si gni f i cant margin i n the EOL MoAg
interconnector/p-cell side welding area.
Figure 6: SLAM image of a molybdenum
i nt er connect or welded on a bus
b a r (uncycled)
5 . PROTECTION AGAINST SHADOWING
The Space Telescope Solar Arrays have to be
designed to survive shadowing, which can occur
due to external vehicle activities or by the high
gain antenna during Telescope roll manoeuvres.
Shadowing can lead to unacceptably high hot-
spot temperatures due to electrical power
consumption in the shadowed solar cells when a
solar cell has to absorb instead of producing
energy. This occurs during short circuiting of the
electrical strings by the power-conditioning unit,
as well as under normal operating conditions (36
Vlsolar cell string level) when there is a critical
shadow on the array.
So-called "shunt diodes" now limit power con-
sumption in the shadowed cells by reducing the
max. possible cell reverse operating voltage. It
must be ensured that the maximum possible
voltage within a shunt interval will not cause an
electrical breakdown, destroying the solar cells
affected, and that t he maximum power
1311
consumption in these cells will not lead to hot
spot temperatures that are unacceptable for
structural-integrity reasons.
It was found that a maximum of 16 solar cells
can be tolerated in series. Due to geometrical
constraints, t he string arrangement selected and
the required 106 solar cells in series, the single
cell rows of each string are connected in parallel
at intervals of 14, 15 or 16 cells in series. Each of
these intervals i s protected by a shadow
protection diode.
A further design aspect was to limit t he diode
temperatures i n case the diode is switched into
operation whilst conducting the worst case string
current due to a shadow or a component failure
of some sort. The current density reduction in
the diodes was achieved by using a flat solar cell
shunt diode, this having the advantages that the
structural integrity of the flexible roll-up is not
affected (as it would be the case if a discrete
diode type would have been used) and that the
same type of ATOX resistant interconnection
technique could be used as applied for the solar
cell compartments. For protecting the flat solar
cell shunt diodes against the ATOX environment
and to support the emissivity in this are4 the
same CMX coverglass type as used for t he solar
cells was bonded onto the diode.
base material
base resistivity
dopi ng/ j unc t i on
c ont a c t s
di me ns i ons
cover gl as s
emi ssi vi t y
abs or pt i vi t y
i n t e r c o n n e c t o r
- crucible crown silicon
- > 50 ohmcm
- n+ pp+ type
- Ti/Pd/Ag
- 20 mm x 20 mm x 0.2 mm
- 150 micron CMX
- 0.83 (hemispherical)
- slotted in welding areas
- in-plane stress relief loop
- 20 micron Ag coated on front
and rear side with 1.5 micron
gold (except welding area)
- 0.15
Tabl e 3. Connect or I nt egr at ed Sol ar Cell
Shunt Diode (C I C -d iod e) Char act er is t ic
6. LIFETIME PREDICTION
6 . 1 STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY
Aside from the design selection and related
developmental testing activities it was necessary
to accrue definitive analytical and test evidence
that the HST solar generator and all its
components and mechanisms can fulfil t he
planned mission. For the solar array blankets the
qualification or life tests were carried out on
several flight representative units and modules,
considering all critical areas of the design. The
materials and components for the qualification
samples were selected from flight-production
lots. The very severe qualification test sequence
is summarized in Table 4. Based on in-orbit
measurements the the solar array temperatures
will be in the range between +/-7OoC only.
Configuration Control
Visual lnspection
Electrical Performance
Humidity Test
Visual Inspection
Electrical Performance
Thermal Vacuum Continuity Check
11,500 Rapid Thermal Cycles (+85/-100)
Visual Inspection
3,500 Rapid Thermal Cycles (+95/-85)
Thcrmal Vacuum Continuity Check
Visual Inspection
Electrical Performance
7,000 Rapid Thermal Cycles (+75/-105)
8,000 Rapid Thermal Cycles (+75/-113)
Thermal Vacuum Continuity Check
Visual Inspection
Electrical Performance
25 Roll-Ups
5 Roll-Ups
Tabl e 4. Qual i f i cat i on t est sequence f or
sol ar a r r a y sampl es (all t emper at ur es in
"C)
The solar array blanket samples passed all of
these tests satisfactorily. To establish the
operating margins of the blankets, one solar
array module was subjected to extended thermal
cycling testing, up to 65 000 cycles without
failure. This indicates that the array's structural
integrity is far better than specification, which
will allow it to stay much longer in orbit than
planned, and that the power output will dictate
the maintenance schedule.
6. 2 ELECTRICAL PERFORMANCE
I n order to predict the solar array's power
delivery as accurately as possible and be sure
that the solar generator will deliver the required
power to the spacecraft for at least 5 years any
negative effects on the electrical power output
and their origin must be studied in detail.
Extensive radiation studies and tests have been
performed to predict t he total accumulated
fluence and evaluate the effects of electron,
1312
proton and photon radiation on the solar cell
assemblies.
For the Space Telescope cell type in combination
with the 150 micron thick cover glass t he
resulting degradation characteristic is given in
figure 5 for the most interesting parameters.
YEARS INORBIT 1 2 3 4 6
75
px:
P M U
Ilowever, if only the effects of radiation are used
to evaluate t he power during lifetime t he
resulting total degradation would be under-
est i in a ted .
I n addition to the natural environment
(radiation temperature, ATOX) further potential
impacts on the power output, such as solar cell
orientation errors, random cell failure and mis-
match, micrometeorite and space debr i s
bombardment, have to be considered. These
effects are considered in form of current and
voltage loss factors applied to the solar cell I/V
characteristic.
As a result of these degradation studies, and the
initial power readings after the solar arrays
were deployed in space on 25 April 1990, the
Telescope's solar generator will have an expected
performance as indicated i n Figure 6, resulting in
a minimum power supply of 4.6 kW after two
years, and 4.4 kW after four years in orbit.
This is far better than the specified requirement
of 4.4 kW after two years in orbit and, together
with the very good structural integrity of the
arrays after deployment fully supports the goal
of significantly extending the lifetime of the HST
solar generator. This excess power gives the
astronomers and scientists much greater
flexibility i n scheduling their observation times.
4 2 0 0 4 . . . , . . . , . . . . . . . , . . . , .
0 385 730 1096 1400 l l P S
T l m In Orblt (&ye)
Figure 8. Predicted solar generator power
p r o f i I e
7 . CONCLUSIONS
The concept chosen for the Space Telescope's
solar arrays is a sound solution for this five-year
low-Earth-orbit mission, with its inherent
stringent requirements on resistance to atomic
oxygen and thermal cycling effects. Based on the
successful testing of qualification sample over
65000 thermal cycles, t he European provided
HST solar array should survive 10 years in its
orbit and supply sufficient power to the
Telescope throughout that lifetime.
The new technologies developed in Europe for
the HST solar array blankets are also an
excellent basis for meeting the challenge of
future projects such as Columbus which will
have even more stringent power demands and
increasing commercial constraints.
REFERENCES
L. Gerlach, Improved Solar Generator Technology
for t he Eureca Low Earth Orbit, Proc. 5th.
European Symp. on Photovoltaic Generators in
Space, Scheveningen, ESA SP-267, Nov.1986.
D. Poeck, Design Development, Qualification and
Flight Production of an ATOX Resistant Flexible
Solar Array for LEO Mission, Proc. European
Space Power Conference,
Madrid, Oct. 1989 (ESA SP-294).
1313