Acquire LED Solar Simulator to Enable Testing State-of-the-Art Solar Array Technology

Project Objective  

MSFC-ES32 proposes to enhance our solar array testing capability with a state-of-the-art LED-based system that can test up to 5 junctions to accommodate the advancements in solar cell technology and provide valuable solar array performance test data in support of future NASA missions. 

Project Description 

• Photovoltaic power generation (solar cells) utilizes multiple P-N junctions made of different semiconductor materials. Each material’s junction produces current in response to different wavelengths of light. Increasing the junctions within a solar array cell means the array can absorb a greater spectrum of light, thereby increasing the efficiency of the array. Today, the most efficient solar array technology available consists of 5-junction cells. Research is currently being done on 6-junction technology.
• For many years, NASA MSFC-ES32 has utilized our large area pulsed solar simulator (LAPSS), capable of testing 3-junction solar arrays, primarily for verifying the power capability of MSFC in-house built cubesats and quantifying environmental degradation on solar arrays for MSFC’s Space Environmental Effects group.
• Under the Flexible Solar Array qual Protocols (FSAP) test program (Dec. 2022), performed under the Game Changing Development office out of NASA HQ, MSFC’s Space Environmental Effects team concluded that 5-junction technology shows great promise. This will translate to greater demand for this technology in the future, necessitating the need for an LED-based solar simulator system.
• MSFC is already running tests on >3-junction solar arrays, for example, for the Gateway Power and Propulsion Element (4-junction arrays), but is forced to make crude relative comparisons of the array performance given the insufficiency of our conventional 3-junction LAPSS for testing >3 junctions. A new LED-based system would provide the tunability needed to test >3 junctions. This capability is not only needed right now but will likely be a requirement for future test campaigns and to enable future spaceflight missions.

Project Results and Conclusions 

Angstrom Designs, Inc., has been awarded the contract to design and build a programmable LED solar simulator system capable of illuminating a 0.995m x 1.010m area. This system has room to add more LED modules to increase the illumination area to 1.296m x 1.204m. Angstrom has completed both the Preliminary Design Review (PDR) and Critical Design Review (CDR) milestones stipulated in the contract. The frame of the system has been built. The LED modules are currently in production. The full system is projected to be delivered to MSFC on 5/5/2026.

• MSFC's current Large Area Pulsed Solar Simulator (LAPSS) facility was likely installed in the 1980s, and, at the time, was the state-of-the-art in measuring solar array electrical performance (i.e., photovoltaic power production). While MSFC has maintained it well, and we continue to use it as best we can, the current LAPSS facility is in need of an update for both aging issues, and more importantly, for technological reasons. Simply put, modern photovoltaic arrays for space systems can no longer be tested using a conventional LAPSS system. To accurately measure the output of a 4-junction or 5-junction photovoltaic cell requires precisely tuning the light spectrum – which is where a programmable LED light source comes into play.
• A state-of-the-art LED solar simulator system that can test current solar array technology would enable MSFC to perform its own testing in support of any spaceflight mission that utilizes solar arrays for the purpose of quantifying power capability and characterizing degradation due to various environmental conditions. The customer base for this testing capability will include any group within NASA or a commercial entity that is using photovoltaic arrays on their spacecraft, lander, or planetary surface habitat.

This is a mature technology (TRL 7+) — the realistic path in is usually NASA's Technology Transfer Program: licensing an existing NASA patent, or a Space Act Agreement to use NASA facilities/expertise directly. NASA also runs a startup licensing program with no upfront fee for companies formed to commercialize a specific NASA technology.

None of these are guaranteed paths for this specific project — TechPort itself doesn't have an "apply" button. Reaching out to the contact(s) above with a specific question is usually the fastest way to find out what's actually open.