595 / 2017-05-15 11:04:51

Secondary arc of LEO spacecraft solar array

HVSA,LEO,sencondary arc,solar array

High voltage solar array (HVSA) and extreme high voltage solar array (EHVSA) are important demands for spacecraft in the future. The electrostatic discharge will be caused by the interactions between the high voltage solar array and the plasma in the space environment in LEO. The electrostatic discharge arc can cause short circuit in the solar array which affects spacecraft work, and even cause the spacecraft missions failed. Thus, the study on characteristics of primary arc and secondary arc of high voltage solar array is very important. In the paper, the vacuum plasma environment in LEO orbit was simulated to study the secondary arc of high-voltage solar array. The silicon solar cell with rigid substrate specimens was used for the experiment. The series-parallel spacing of the silicon solar cell is 1mm. The string current of the solar cell are 0.7A, 1.5A and 2A. The secondary arc is shot by high-speed cameras. The secondary arc is observed before the primary arc extinguished. The transition time of the secondary arc formation is analyzed. The transition time of secondary arc formation is about 10~13µs. The string currents, string voltages and primary arc have no affect on the transition time of the secondary arc formation.