Description
The objective of this activity is to form a European consortium and to develop a solar array test approach as needed for the preparation of the ECSS E-20-08 handbook, in the case of a design or process change. The new test approach will be validated by Development Validation Testing (DVT) coupons. Targeted Improvements: Substantial reduction (50%) in the delta-qualification time of solar panels, which deviate slightly from existing qualified designs. Description: The qualification of a solar generator includes testing a Design Verification Test (DVT) coupon of a miniature solar panel, equipped with PhotoVoltaic Assemblies (PVA). This coupon is subjected to thermal vacuum and thermal cycling, which envelope the in-orbit environment. Changes to the design, process or manufacturers(of the PVA or panel substrate) currently require a repetition of this expensive and time-consuming qualification test activity. In the case of minor changes to existing qualified solar panel designs, a restricted set of tests could offer substantial savings in both development costs and schedule. This is of particular relevance to constellations, where delta-qualification effort and costs need to be limited. In the proposed activity a simplified test approach shall be identified to reduce the qualification test effort when design and/or process changes are implemented by manufacturers. To this end, for each identified design or process modification, an understanding shall be gained by analysis, as to the role played in the failure mechanism. Based on these findings, a series of alternative tests (e.g., mechanically induced fatigue tests, thermal cycling of parts instead of a DVT) shall be proposed, in which the impact of each of these identified modifications can be assessed. The results of these alternative tests shall be compared to those of DVT tests. In the case of positive correlation, conclusions shall be drawn regarding the substitution of a full DVT by an alternative test. These conclusions will be inputs for the ECSS E-20-08 Handbook that will address the topic of qualification by similarity.