Electrical characteristics prediction of microsatellite photovoltaic subsystem in orbit

Abstract

Analyzing the performance of satellite photovoltaic (PV) array before launch and in space missions is crucial for energy balance and missions success. This study proposes a specific method to predict the electrical characteristics of body mounted solar array for microsatellite. Based on limit data provided by manufacturers and semiconductor band gap, the equivalent circuit model and its parameters of PV cell or module at different solar irradiance and temperature conditions are determined. Moreover, solar irradiance on body-mounted solar panel is modeled by the variation of incident angle in time domain. According to thermal balance relationship in orbit, the temperature fluctuation is modeled and computed by the Ronge-Kutta algorithm. Finally, calculated results are compared with measure data of the TX-1 microsatellite developed by Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and applied to predict output power in different space missions.