Item — Long Life Insulation Criticality — Critical to program success High-voltage components may require insulation to prevent excessive power losses due to corona discharge, arcing, and electron boil off. Replacement or refurbishment of the insulation will require expensive and complex operations. Present Capability: High-voltage insulations are in extensive use in earth-based applications. However, they are not designed for long life at GEO. Required Capability: High-voltage insulations are required that can survive 30 years in a GEO environment without replacement or refurbishment. Development Plan: Potential materials should be reviewed to determine their suitability to a GEO mission. Existing and new materials should be considered. Viable materials should be tested to determine their performance in a GEO environment. Item — Electrical Connectors Criticality — Enhance probability of program success Construction of the SPS will likely require making many electrical connections, such as solar cells and dc-RF converters to the power buss bar. This item is directed toward connectors that are easily mated in a space environment. Present Capabilities: Many different types of electrical connectors are available. However, they are designed for assembly in an earth environment. Some of these can probably be used for the SPS. However, construction can probably be simplified and enhanced by using connectors specifically designed for rapid assembly in a zero gravity environment. Required Capability: Connectors optimized for rapid automatic assembly in a zero gravity environment are required. They should exhibit low resistance, high stability, and high reliability to meet SPS requirements. Development Plans: Connector designs should be developed for SPS assembly and life requirements. The most viable concepts should be tested for their performance. In-orbit assembly tests should be conducted after shuttle becomes available.
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