The use of solar panels in space. Space solar modules

SUBSTANCE: invention relates to energy systems of space objects based on direct conversion of solar radiant energy into electricity, and can be used to create cost-effective large-area solar batteries. Essence: in a space solar battery containing a supporting frame, photocells placed on it, including two conductive electrodes separated by a gap, one of which is made translucent, on inner surface a coating of materials with a work function less than the work function of the electrode material is placed, and the gap size does not exceed the mean free path of photoelectrons. 5 ill.

SUBSTANCE: invention relates to energy systems of space objects based on direct conversion of solar radiant energy into electricity, and can be used to create space solar panels (SB) of a large area. Solar cells are known, containing a frame, photocells placed on it, including two conductive electrodes separated by a gap, one of which is made translucent Solar batteries based on semiconductor structures various types have enough high efficiency conversion of solar energy. The disadvantages of the known SBs based on the internal photoelectric effect are the complexity of the structure of the solar cell with the use of scarce materials in it, for example, gallium arsenide; the fundamental limitation from below of the thickness of the solar cell due to the multilayer, especially graded-gap, structure of the converter using substrates, various optical and protective coatings and, as a result, the relatively large mass of the solar cell, exceeding the mass of the SB frame made of high-strength materials; sensitivity to the effects of the space environment, in particular to corpuscular radiation, which causes a rapid degradation of performance, reducing the resource. As a result, these shortcomings lead to a high cost of electricity generated by such solar panels. The closest to the proposed technical solution is a space solar battery chosen as a prototype, containing a supporting frame, photocells placed on it, including two conductive electrodes separated by a gap, one of which is made translucent. a homo- or heterostructural layer (s) is used, on which electrodes (for example, optical and barrier) and the necessary coatings are deposited. Current-collecting elements can be made in the form of thin conductive grids formed on the surfaces of the electrodes. The supporting frame is a truss structure made of high-strength, for example, carbon fiber, rod elements, on which FEP is stretched in the form of flexible panels on a mesh substrate, fixed to the frame along the periphery. The well-known SB has a sufficiently high efficiency (practically up to 15-20%) and a small thickness of flexible SB panels (up to 100-200 microns), which facilitates the storage, transportation and deployment of the SB into working condition, for example, from a roll. The disadvantages of the well-known SB are already noted above, typical for semiconductor solar cells. These shortcomings, as a result, are expressed in insufficiently high specific energy characteristics (power does not exceed 0.2 kW / kg or 0.16 kW / m 2) and operational and technological characteristics (significant specific gravity of SB due to FEP, manufacturing complexity, sensitivity to cosmic impacts, etc.), which leads to an increased cost of generating electricity from this type of SB. The aim of the invention is to increase the specific electrical power per unit mass while increasing resistance to external influences in space conditions. This goal is achieved by the fact that in a space solar battery containing a supporting frame, photocells placed on it, including two conductive electrodes separated by a gap, one of which is made translucent, on the inner surface of one of the electrodes there is a coating of a material with a work function that is less than work the exit of its material, and the size of the gap does not exceed the mean free path of photoelectrons. The essence of the invention consists in the use in the design of the proposed SB, in contrast to the traditional principle of the external photoelectric effect, while one of the conductive electrodes acts as a photocathode, from which photoelectrons can be knocked out mainly either in the direction of the incident light from the shadow surface of the film, or in the opposite direction from the illuminated surface films. Photoelectrons are captured by another film with a conductive electrode, which acts as an anode. Since the cathode and anode films are made of materials with different electron work functions, when exposed to the SB luminous flux some equilibrium potential difference is established between the films (EMF of the order of 0.6-0.8 V), provided that the gap between the films is less than the mean free path of photoelectrons in the gap medium (this condition is satisfied for space vacuum with a weak external magnetic field). Most significantly, conductive (including metal) films can be made much thinner than semiconductor SB panels of the order of 0.5 microns or less, so that the specific characteristics of the proposed SB turn out to be much higher than those of traditional SB. In addition, the sensitivity of the electrophysical characteristics of the proposed SB to the effects of space environment factors (micrometeorites, corpuscular radiation) is much weaker. The production of films and the assembly of SBs from them on a supporting frame are technologically simple, and the conditions of low gravity (weightlessness) make it possible to create light SBs of a very large area, and, consequently, power. The preferred embodiment of the proposed SB is the design, where each of the films with a conductive electrode is made in the form of strips isolated from each other, and the strips of different films in pairs form sections of the photoelectric converter, combined into a serial circuit, in which each rear strip of one of the sections of the converter is electrically connected with the strip oriented towards the Sun of the adjacent section of the converter, and the current-collecting elements are electrically connected with the rear strip at one end of the circuit and with the strip oriented towards the Sun at the opposite end of the circuit. This design has an increased manufacturability in the construction of a large-area SB. At the same time, such a SB design makes it possible to reduce the amount of current flowing through the sections of the solar cell, per unit of generated power, and thereby reduce the film thickness, i.e., further reduce the weight of the SB. In the proposed SB, a coating is applied to the surface of a film with a conductive electrode (photocathode), which reduces the work function of electrons from this film. This can be done, for example, by oxidizing a suitable metal (eg aluminum) film. When the anode is located above the photocathode, the first must be translucent, therefore, in this option The proposed SB conductive film, oriented towards the Sun, can be made of a perforated or mesh structure with the smallest possible shading of the cathode film. The essence of the invention is illustrated by drawings, where figure 1 shows a diagram of the SB with a film photocathode oriented towards the Sun; figure 2 shows a diagram of the SB with a photocathode on the back surface; figure 3 shows circuit diagram SB with sectioning; figure 4 shows the equivalent electrical circuit of the SB; figure 5 shows the option design Sat. As shown in figure 1, the SB contains placed on the carrier dielectric frame 1 conductive film, one of which serves as a photoemission cathode 2, and the other an anode 3. The film 2 is located along the surface oriented to the solar light flux 4. Conductive film through the current-collecting elements 5 can be connected to the load 6. According to another version of the SB shown in figure 2, the photocathode 2 can be located along the rear surface, and the anode film 3 is translucent, in particular perforated or made in the form of a fine wire mesh. The electrode materials can be metals such as aluminum, silver, gold, platinum, some alloys, alkali metal oxides and other compounds. Different work function of electrons was obtained for films of the same metal due to oxidation of one of them or other surface treatment. As shown in figure 3, the cathode and anode films can be made in the form of strips 7 and 8 isolated from each other, and the strips of one type (anode) are electrically connected to the strips of another type (cathode) along the contact joints (seams) 9 so, that here the FEP of a large area is a system (chain) of series-connected power generating sections of 10 smaller sizes. Each section increases the voltage supplied to load 6 according to the equivalent electric circuit circuit shown in Fig.4. As shown in figure 5, constructively SB with the scheme according to figure 3 may contain a folding or prefabricated frame with longitudinal 11 and transverse 12 load-bearing elements. Fragments of FEP 13 in the form of joined strips of different types are stretched over the frame with their passage through the transverse elements 12 and fastening along the edges on the same elements 12, for example, using dielectric elastic fabrics (grids, braces, etc.) 14. Rigidity of the SB in deployed state is provided by stretch marks 15, tightening the ends of the longitudinal rod elements 11, articulated in their central parts. The functioning and operation of the SB according to the invention is carried out as follows. Either the entire SB in a folded form, or its fragments, which are then assembled into a single system, is launched into outer space. Unfolded in working condition SB is oriented towards the Sun with one of its film surfaces, depending on the type of photocathode (see Fig.1 and 2). Due to the resulting electron emission in the gap between the films, electric field, which creates a potential difference between the anode and cathode films, equal to the difference in the work functions of these films. When connected to the SB through current-collecting elements 5 of some load 6 in the FEP circuit, electricity, which provides the load with the necessary electricity. The preferred area of ​​application of the proposed SBs is high, in particular geostationary orbits, where the impact of the atmosphere, the planet's magnetic field and its gravitational gradient is minimal, which makes it possible to create SBs of a very large area and, consequently, high power. The technical and economic efficiency of the proposed invention can be confirmed by the following estimates. It is known that the efficiency of energy conversion at external photoelectric effect is 2-10% Considering that the power of the solar luminous flux near the Earth is approximately 1.4 kW / m 2, electric power, produced by a unit surface of the SB, will be about 0.051400 70 W / m 2 if we take an efficiency of 5% This figure is noticeably worse than that of serial silicon SBs, where 110 W / m 2 is achieved. However, the film thickness can be adjusted to 0.5 µm. Then the mass of 1 m 2 of a film, for example, made of aluminum will be 110.510 -6 2.710 3 1.3510 -3 kg 1.35 g for a thickness of 0.5 microns. From here, the specific electric power (by weight of the FEP), taking into account the use of two films, will be For a FEP with a specific mass of 25-10 g/m 2 , the specific electrical power of the SB will be This main indicator of the proposed SB is almost 20 times higher than the same indicator for promising semiconductor SBs, which reaches 200 W/kg, and the implementation of the proposed SB does not require scarce materials and complex technologies, since the production of very thin conductive films is a practically mastered process. The cost of creating the proposed SBs should be expected at the level of the cost of putting them into orbit, and since the latter is proportional to the mass of the SBs, the gain in the cost of generating electricity using the proposed SBs becomes quite obvious. In addition, the proposed SBs are characterized by a longer service life and less stringent operational requirements. The proposed SBs allow the possibility of their effective use as control (solar-sail) organs for orientation and correction of the orbit of space objects. Prospects for improving the proposed SBs are mainly associated with the creation of very thin conductive films (less than 0.1 μm) and ultralight load-bearing frames. Relevant research is being carried out in the field of "solar sail" type devices. Sources of information 1. Koltun M.M. Solar cells. M. Science, 1987, pp. 136-154. 2. Grilikhes V.A. and other Solar energy and space flights. M. Science, 1984 str.144 (prototype).

Recently in Colorado there was a conference "A New Generation of Suborbital Explorers", which discussed, in particular, projects for the construction of space solar stations. And if no one took such ideas seriously before, now they are really close to being implemented.

Thus, the US Congress is preparing a plan for the gradual transition of America from fossil fuels to space energy. A specially created department of space will be responsible for the implementation of the project, NASA, the Department of Energy and other organizations will play an active role in its work.

Until October of this year, the Department of Justice must submit to Congress all the necessary changes and additions to the current federal legislation in order to begin construction of space solar power plants. As part of the program for initial stage it is planned to develop nuclear space engines to use space shuttles for space logistics and the construction of solar installations in orbit.

Also in active development are technologies that can convert sunlight into electricity and teleport it to Earth.

In particular, specialists from the California Institute of Technology propose to illuminate the planet with the help of orbital "flying carpets". These are systems of 2,500 panels 25 mm thick and 2/3 of a football field long. Elements of such a station will deliver rockets like the Space Launch System, an American super-heavy launch vehicle being developed by NASA, into orbit. The space power station is being created as part of the SSPI (Space Solar Power Initiative), a partnership project between the California Institute of Technology and Northrup Grumman. The latter has invested $17.5 million to develop the core components of the system over the next three years. The initiative was also supported by researchers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab.

According to Caltech professor Harry Atwater, who led the Space Solar Power Initiative, "flying carpets" convert solar energy into radio waves and send them to earth. The energy will be transmitted according to the principle of a phased array, which is used in radar systems. This will allow you to create a stream moving in any direction.

Solar panels consist of tiles, 10x10 cm in size and weighing about 0.8 g, which will provide a relatively low cost of launching the structure. Each tile will transmit the converted energy autonomously, and if one of them fails, the rest will continue to work. Loss of multiple items due to solar flares or small meteorites will not harm the power plant. According to the calculations of scientists, with mass production, the cost of electricity from such a source will be less than when using coal or natural gas.

The percentage of ground-based solar installations in the overall balance of energy supply in many countries of the world is becoming higher. But the possibilities of such power plants are limited: at night and with heavy cloud cover, solar panels lose their ability to generate electricity. Therefore, the ideal option is to place solar power plants in orbit where day does not change into night, and clouds do not create barriers between the Sun and the panels. The main advantage of building a power plant in space is its potential efficiency. Solar panels located in space can generate energy ten times more than batteries located on the surface of the Earth.

The idea of ​​orbital power plants has been developed for a long time, scientists from NASA and the Pentagon have been engaged in similar research since the 60s. Earlier incarnation similar projects hindered by the high cost of transportation, but with the development of technology, space power plants may become a reality in the foreseeable future.

There are already several interesting projects for the construction of solar installations in orbit. In addition to the Space Solar Power Initiative, the Americans are developing an orbital solar panel that will absorb solar radiation and transmit electron beams using radio waves to the earth's receiver. The authors of the development were specialists from the US Navy Research Laboratory. They built a compact solar module with a photovoltaic panel on one side. Inside the panel is electronics that converts direct current into radio frequency for signal transmission, the other side supports an antenna to transmit electron beams to Earth.

According to the lead author of the development, Paul Jaffe, the lower the frequency of the electron beam carrying energy, the more reliable its transmission will be in bad weather. And with a frequency of 2.45 GHz, you can get energy even during the rainy season. The solar receiver will provide energy for all military operations, about diesel generators can be forever forgotten.

The US is not the only country that plans to receive electricity from space. The fierce struggle for traditional energy resources has forced many states to seek alternative sources energy.

The Japanese space exploration agency JAXA has developed a photovoltaic platform for installation in Earth's orbit. The solar energy collected with the help of the installation will be supplied to the receiving stations of the Earth and converted into electricity. Solar energy will be collected at an altitude of 36,000 km.

Such a system, consisting of a series of ground and orbital stations, should start operating as early as 2030, its total capacity will be 1 GW, which is comparable to the standard nuclear power plant. To do this, Japan plans to build an artificial island 3 km long, on which a network of 5 billion antennas will be deployed to convert microwave radio waves into electricity. JAXA researcher Susumi Sasaki, who led the development, is confident that placing solar batteries in space will lead to a revolution in energy, allowing over time to completely abandon traditional energy sources.

China has similar plans, which will build a solar power plant larger than the International Space Station in Earth's orbit. total area solar panels installation will be 5-6 thousand square meters. km. According to experts, such a station will collect the sun's rays 99% of the time, and space solar panels will be able to generate 10 times more electricity per unit area than ground-based counterparts. It is assumed that for transmission to the ground collector, the generated electricity will be converted into microwaves or a laser beam. The start of construction is scheduled for 2030, the cost of the project will be about $1 trillion.

World engineers are evaluating the possibilities of building solar space power plants not only in orbit, but also in areas closer to the Sun, near Mercury. In this case, solar panels will require almost 100 times less. In this case, the receiving devices can be moved from the Earth's surface into the stratosphere, which will allow efficient energy transfer in the millimeter and submillimeter ranges.

Projects of lunar solar power plants are also being developed.

For example, the Japanese company Shimizu proposed to create a belt of solar panels stretched along the entire equator of the Moon for 11 thousand km and a width of 400 km.

It will be placed on reverse side satellite of the Earth, so that the system is constantly under the sun's rays. It will be possible to connect panels using the usual power cables or optical systems. The generated electricity is planned to be transmitted using large antennas, and received using special receivers on Earth.

In theory, the project looks great, it remains to figure out how to deliver hundreds of thousands of panels to the Earth’s satellite and install them there, as well as how to deliver energy from the Moon to our planet without losing a significant part of it along the way: after all, you will have to overcome 364 thousand km. So the ideas of creating lunar power plants are too far from reality, and if they are realized, then very slowly.

Tatyana Gromova

Solar panels are often quite large sizes, so it is difficult to find such properties on which they could be placed. One Swiss company has developed a new approach and found its own ways to solve this problem. The company is launching a floating island covered with solar panels on Lake Neuchâtel. Each of the three planned islands with a diameter of 25 meters will be able to host 100 photovoltaic panels that will operate over the next 25 years. The islands will also be used for research purposes.

AT recent times, shipping companies are increasingly resorting to the use of intensive solar energy, placing solar panels on board. For the first time, solar panels on a ship were placed in Shanghai in 2010. The ship was equipped with a huge solar battery, made in the form of a sail. The yacht Turanor PlanetSolar, which recently completed a round-the-world voyage using solar energy, was made according to the same principle.

Solar panels in the sky

2013 was a record year for the use of solar panels as a power source for aircraft. Solar Impulse has developed the world's longest solar powered aircraft. The plane flew across America this summer.

Of course, so far only small, unmanned aircraft can fly on solar energy. Solar panels greatly facilitate the design of drones, and increase the time they can stay in the air.

One example of the use of solar panels in the air is a lift placed high in the mountains, which is able to lift people to the top of the mountain using solar energy.

Solar panels in space

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have created a prototype exploration rover that is planned to be sent to the moon in the future on a SpaceX rocket. The device, called Polaris, is powered entirely by solar energy. Polaris will be used to study polar lunar latitudes. The rover is equipped with special software that will help it work in the darker areas of the satellite.

You have also probably heard of a large number of space debris in orbit. It would be a good idea to restore these satellites and return them to earth for repair and further return to orbit. This idea formed the basis of the new Solara concept, a solar-powered device that does not require constant repair. The atmospheric satellite was developed by Titan Aerospace. Solara is able to operate in the highest layers of the atmosphere for five consecutive years.

The latest and most ambitious hope is a project by a Japanese firm that plans to build an array of solar arrays around the Moon's equator and then fire a beam of energy back to Earth. The creation of the "Ring of the Moon" will take about 30 years. According to the assumptions of the company's specialists, the lunar ring will generate up to 13,000 TW (terawatts) of constant energy.

  • Fantastic power plants

It is no secret that in line with the constant struggle for more productive, environmentally friendly and cheaper energy, humanity is increasingly turning to alternative sources of precious energy. In many countries, a fairly large number of residents have determined for themselves the need to use electricity to supply their homes.

Some of them came to this conclusion due to difficult calculations to save material resources, and some of them were forced to take such a responsible step by circumstances, one of which is a remote geographical location, which causes the absence of reliable communications. But not only in these hard-to-reach places need solar panels. There are frontiers much more distant than the edge of the earth - this is space. Solar battery in space is the only source of generating the required amount of electricity.

Fundamentals of space solar energy

The idea to use solar panels in space first appeared more than half a century ago, during the first launches of artificial earth satellites. At that time, in the USSR, a professor and specialist in the field of physics, especially in the field of electricity, Nikolai Stepanovich Lidorenko, substantiated the need to use infinite energy sources on spacecraft. Such energy could only be the energy of the sun, which was produced using solar modules.

Currently, all space stations operate solely on solar energy.

The cosmos itself is a great helper in this matter, since the sun's rays, which are so necessary for the process of photosynthesis in, are abundant in outer space, and there is no hindrance to their consumption.

The disadvantage of using solar panels in near-Earth orbit can be the effect of radiation on the material used to make photographic plates. Due to this negative influence, the structure of solar cells changes, which leads to a decrease in electricity generation.

Fantastic power plants

In science labs all over the earth, a similar task is currently going on - the search for free electricity from the sun. Only not on the scale of a single house or city, but on the scale of the entire planet. The essence of this work is to create solar modules that are huge in size and, accordingly, in energy production.

The area of ​​such modules is huge and placing them on the surface of the earth will entail many difficulties, such as:

  • significant and vacant areas for installing light receivers,
  • influence of weather conditions on and efficiency of modules,
  • maintenance and cleaning costs for solar panels.

All these negative aspects exclude the installation of such a monumental structure on the ground. But there is a way out. It consists in the installation of giant solar modules in near-Earth orbit. When such an idea is put into practice, humanity receives a solar energy source that is always under the influence of sunlight, will never require snow removal, and most importantly will not occupy usable space on earth.

Of course, the one who is the first for space will dictate his own terms in the world energy in the future. It is no secret that the reserves of minerals on our earth are not just not endless, but on the contrary, every day it reminds us that soon humanity will have to switch to alternative sources forcibly. That is why the development of space solar modules in earth orbit is on the list of priorities for power engineers and specialists designing power plants of the future.

Read also:

Problems of placement of solar modules in the earth's orbit

The difficulties of the birth of such power plants, not only in the installation, delivery and basing of solar modules in near-Earth orbit. The greatest problems are caused by the transfer of electric current generated by solar modules to the consumer, that is, to the ground. Of course, you can’t stretch the wires, and you won’t be able to transport them in a container. There are almost unrealistic technologies for transmitting energy over distances without tangible materials. But such technologies cause many conflicting hypotheses in the scientific world.

Firstly, such a strong radiation will negatively affect a vast signal reception area, that is, a significant part of our planet will be irradiated. And if such space stations will it become too much over time? This could lead to irradiation of the entire surface of the planet, resulting in unpredictable consequences.

Secondly negative point may be partial destruction upper layers atmosphere and the ozone layer, in places where energy is transferred from the power plant to the receiver. Consequences of this kind, even a child can imagine.

In addition to everything, there are many nuances of a different nature that increase negative points, and delaying the launch of such devices. There can be many such emergency situations, from the difficulty of repairing panels, in the event of an unforeseen breakdown or collision with a space body, to a banal problem - how to dispose of such an unusual structure after the end of its service life.

Despite all negative points, humanity, as they say, nowhere to go. Solar energy is currently the only source of energy that can, in theory, cover the growing needs of people for electricity. None of the currently existing sources of energy on earth can match its future prospects with this unique phenomenon.

Approximate implementation timeline

It has long ceased to be a theoretical question. The first launch of the power plant into earth orbit is already scheduled for 2040. Of course, this is only a trial model, and it is far from those global structures that are planned to be built in the future. The essence of such a launch is to see in practice how such a power plant will work in working conditions. The country that has taken on such a difficult mission is Japan. The estimated battery area, theoretically, should be about four square kilometers.

If experiments show that such a thing as a solar power plant can exist, then the mainstream of solar energy will have a clear path for the development of such inventions. If the economic aspect, will not be able to stop the whole thing at an early stage. The fact is that, according to theoretical calculations, in order to put a full-fledged solar power plant into orbit, more than two hundred launches of cargo launch vehicles are needed. For your information, the cost of one launch of a heavy truck, based on existing statistics, is approximately 0.5 - 1 billion dollars. The arithmetic is simple and the results are not encouraging.

The resulting amount is huge, and it will only go to the delivery of the disassembled elements into orbit, and it is also necessary to assemble the entire designer.

Summing up all that has been said, it can be noted that the creation of a space solar power plant is a matter of time, but to build such a structure is only possible for superpowers, which will be able to overcome the entire burden of the economic burden from the implementation of the process.

These are photovoltaic converters - semiconductor devices that convert solar energy into direct electric current. Simply put, these are the main elements of the device that we call "solar panels". With these batteries, space orbits artificial earth satellites. Such batteries are made here in Krasnodar - at the Saturn plant. The plant management invited the author of this blog to look at the production process and write about it in his diary.


1. The enterprise in Krasnodar is part of the structure of the Federal Space Agency, but Saturn is owned by the Ochakovo company, which literally saved this production in the 90s. The owners of Ochakovo bought out a controlling stake, which almost went to the Americans. Ochakovo invested heavily here, purchased modern equipment, managed to retain specialists, and now Saturn is one of the two leaders in the Russian market for the production of solar and storage batteries for the needs of the space industry - civil and military. All the profit that Saturn receives remains here in Krasnodar and goes to the development of the production base.

2. So, it all starts here - on the site of the so-called. gas phase epitaxy. There is a gas reactor in this room, in which a crystalline layer is grown on a germanium substrate for three hours, which will serve as the basis for a future photocell. The cost of such an installation is about three million euros.

3. After that, the substrate has to go through more long haul: electrical contacts will be applied to both sides of the photocell (moreover, on the working side, the contact will have a “comb pattern”, the dimensions of which are carefully calculated to ensure maximum passage of sunlight), an anti-reflection coating will appear on the substrate, etc. - in total more than two dozen technological operations on various installations before the photocell becomes the basis of the solar battery.

4. Here, for example, is the installation of photolithography. Here, on the photocells, “patterns” of electrical contacts are formed. The machine performs all operations automatically, according to a given program. Here, the light is appropriate, which does not harm the light-sensitive layer of the photocell - as before, in the era of analog photography, we used "red" lamps.

5. Vacuum sputtering with electron beam electrical contacts and dielectrics are applied, and antireflection coatings are applied (they increase the current generated by the photocell by 30%).

6. Well, the photocell is ready and you can start assembling the solar battery. Tires are soldered to the surface of the photocell in order to then connect them to each other, and a protective glass is glued on them, without which in space, under radiation conditions, the photocell may not withstand loads. And, although the thickness of the glass is only 0.12 mm, a battery with such photocells will work for a long time in orbit (more than fifteen years in high orbits).


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7. The electrical connection of the photocells with each other is carried out by silver contacts (they are called shank) with a thickness of only 0.02 mm.

8. To obtain the desired voltage in the network, produced by the solar battery, the photocells are connected in series. This is how a section of series-connected photocells looks like (photoelectric converters - that's right).

9. Finally, the solar panel is assembled. Only part of the battery is shown here - the panel in layout format. There can be up to eight such panels on the satellite, depending on how much power is needed. On modern communication satellites, it reaches 10 kW. Such panels will be mounted on a satellite, they will open in space like wings and with their help we will watch satellite TV, use satellite Internet, navigation systems (Glonass satellites use Krasnodar solar panels).

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10. When the spacecraft is illuminated by the Sun, the electricity generated by the solar battery feeds the systems of the apparatus, and the excess energy is stored in the battery. When the spacecraft is in the shadow of the Earth, the spacecraft uses the electricity stored in the battery. The nickel-hydrogen battery, having a high energy capacity (60 Wh/kg) and an almost inexhaustible resource, is widely used in spacecraft. The production of such batteries is another part of the work of the Saturn plant.

In this picture, the assembly of nickel-hydrogen battery produced by Anatoly Dmitrievich Panin, holder of the medal of the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, II degree.

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11. Assembly site for nickel-hydrogen batteries. The filling of the battery is being prepared for placement in the case. The filling is positive and negative electrodes separated by separator paper - in them the transformation and accumulation of energy takes place.

12. Installation for electron-beam welding in vacuum, with which the battery case is made of thin metal.

13. A section of the workshop where the cases and parts of the batteries are tested for the effects of high pressure.
Due to the fact that the accumulation of energy in the battery is accompanied by the formation of hydrogen, and the pressure inside the battery increases, leak testing is an integral part of the battery manufacturing process.

14. The body of the nickel-hydrogen battery is very important detail of all devices operating in space. The body is designed for a pressure of 60 kg·s/cm 2 , during testing the rupture occurred at a pressure of 148 kg·s/cm 2 .

15. Batteries tested for strength are filled with electrolyte and hydrogen, after which they are ready for use.

16. The body of the nickel-hydrogen battery is made of a special alloy of metals and must be mechanically strong, light and have high thermal conductivity. Batteries are installed in cells and do not touch each other.

17. Accumulators and batteries assembled from them are subjected to electrical tests at our own production facilities. In space, it will be impossible to fix or replace anything, so every product is carefully tested here.

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18. All space technology is tested for mechanical impacts using vibration stands that simulate loads during launch spacecraft into orbit.

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19. In general, the Saturn plant made the most favorable impression. The production is well organized, the workshops are clean and bright, the people are qualified, it is a pleasure and very interesting to communicate with such specialists for a person who is at least to some extent interested in our space. Left the Saturn good mood- It's always nice to see a place where they don't engage in empty chatter and don't shift papers, but do a real, serious business, successfully compete with the same manufacturers in other countries. There would be more of this in Russia.


Photos: © drugoi

P.S. Blog of the Vice President for Marketing of the Ochakovo company