High Voltage Solar Array (HVSA) Experiment As for the electrical power system of future spacecraft, its power level is expected to increase as high as 100 kW in the 1990s. It is advisable in such a case to suppress the mass increase of the wire harness due to its current-capacity increase by supplying the power at high voltage. It is also desirable to directly drive high voltage equipment such as microwave generators and electric propulsions by solar cells connected in series. Moreover, the bus voltage can be adjusted to the required value by changing the series-parallel connection of solar cells. In that sense the PCU (Power Control Unit) can be versatile and eliminate the conventional DC/DC converter and the power loss in it. It is essential to implement the flight test in the 1992 time-frame when solar activity is at its maximum and the environmental impact is most stringent. As described above, the High Voltage Solar Array Experiment will contribute to augment the capability of the electrical power system and be applied to spacecraft in the future.
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