METHOD OF ESTIMATION OF STATE OF SOLAR CELL OF SPACECRAFT WITH INERTIAL OPERATING MEMBERS Russian patent published in 2018 - IPC B64G1/44 B64G1/28 

FIELD: astronautics.

SUBSTANCE: invention relates to power supply systems for spacecraft using solar cells (SC). Method includes the SC orientation to the Sun, measurement on successive turns of the orbit of the angle between the direction to the Sun and the normal to the plane of the spacecraft orbit, as well as the SC current at the moment of touching the upper boundary of the Earth's atmosphere by the Sun disk visible from the spacecraft at its sunrise. Also defined is the angle between the normal to the plane of the spacecraft orbit and the normal to the working surface of the SC in the SC fixed position, depending in some way on the phase of flight visible from the spacecraft of the angular half-openings of the disks of the Earth and the Sun and the elevation angle of the upper boundary of the atmosphere above the horizon. On the turns, where the local minimum of the modulus of angle Y is reached, , fixed is the measured value of the SC current, determined is the distance from the Earth to the Sun and the value of the angle between the normal to the working surface of the SC and the direction to the sun. Certain control parameter calculated from these data is compared at the current and the previous flight stages, using for assessing the state of the SC.

EFFECT: technical result is minimizing the influence on this evaluation of the illumination from the Earth at the beginning of the light section of the orbit against the background of the normal flight of the spacecraft.

1 cl, 2 dwg