On-orbit verification of space solar cells on the CubeSat MOVE-II

Abstract

Several promising multi-junction solar cell concepts for space applications are currently under development worldwide. On-Orbit Verification on CubeSats is a cost-efficient method to gain data on critical hardware early in the design validation process. The MOVE-II CubeSat will be used for the verification of novel 4-6 junction solar cells. With a footprint of 10×10 cm2, the payload consists of one full size solar cell (8×4 cm2) and up to 7 positions (each 2×2 cm2) for corresponding isotype solar cells. The measurement electronics is based on commercial off-the-shelf hardware. MOVE-II is planned to launch in early 2018 into a 500-550 km sun-synchronous orbit.