Maxar Space LLC

Space Systems/loral, LLC

Alan J Szeto

Harry A Yates

Ryan Bieniek

Frederick Oey

Richard B Warnock

Martinus Meerman

Tom Hsieh

Robert Szombathy

Ben Kwong

Peter Amnuaypayoat

Varouj G Baghdasarian

Kate Psyk

Jonathan Briend

A solar array structure for a spacecraft is based on a modular approach, allowing for arrays to be designed, and designed to be modified, and manufactured in reduced time and with reduced cost. The embodiments for the solar array are formed of multiple copies of a 'bay' of a multiple strings of solar array cells mounted on semi-rigid face-sheet structural elements. The bays are then placed into frame structures made of tubes connected by nodes to provide an easily scalable, configurable, and producible solar array wing structure. This allows for rapid turnaround of program specific designs and proposal iterations that is quickly adaptable to new/future PhotoVoltaic (PV) technologies and that can create uniquely shaped (i.e., not rectangular) arrays, allowing for mass production with simple mass producible building blocks.

Modular solar array

An example of an apparatus includes a spacecraft body and a solar array that is attached to the spacecraft body. In addition, a solar array spring element is configured to provide a force between the solar array and one or more components of a neighboring spacecraft in a stack of spacecraft.

Solar array spring elements for stacking spacecraft

A deployable solar panel array featuring in-line solar panels and side solar panels, where the side solar panels are configured to deploy in a staggered fashion after deployment of the in-line panels. A passive deployment mechanism governs the deployment sequence.

Solar panel sequencing mechanism

Growing community of inventors

San Jose, CA, United States of America

Alan J Szeto