Solar Concentration in Space

Solar concentrators go space. Lens and mirror-based solar concentrators have recently begun to boost photovoltaic power supplies for satellites in space. In 1998, the first mission carrying solar concentrators was launched. Deep Space 1 uses lenses of medium concentration at 7X (suns). The probe's main objective is the validation of three novel technologies. Besides the test of an autonomous navigation system, this means the successful demonstration of: solar electric propulsion (SEP), which is an ion-propulsion engine [26]. Xenon is ionized, then accelerated electrostatically, and exits at high speed. While its thrust (20–90 mN) is small in comparison to the impulse obtained with conventional chemical reactions, the engine is ten times more efficient: 81.5 kg of fuel are expected to last for 8000 hours of operation, allowing for a total change of speed of 3.6 km/s; solar concentrator arrays with refractive linear element technology (SCARLET), which provide the high voltage electric power for the ion-propulsion engine [114].