DEVELOPMENT OF AN IMPROVED MIRROR FACET FOR SPACE APPLICATIONS.

THE ADVANCED SOLAR DYNAMIC SPACE POWER SYSTEM UTILIZES A PRECISION OPTICAL CONCENTRATOR TO FOCUS THE SUNS ENERGY FOR CONVERSION TO ELECTRICITY. THE FIRST GENERATION CONCENTRATOR IS MADE UP OF MIRROR FACETS WHICH MUST BE HIGHLY ACCURATE. SOLAR KINETICS PROPOSES TO DEVELOP AN ALL METAL ADVANCED HONEYCOMB DESIGN WHICH WILL MEET OR EXCEED THE ACCURACY GOAL OF ONE MILLIRADIAN SLOPE ERROR. THE MIRROR FACET WILL BE A "SANDWICH" CONSTRUCTION OF THIN PREFORMED SHEET TITANIUM OR STAINLESS STEEL WITH A WELDED HONEYCOMB CORE. THE CONVEX SURFACE WILL BE COATED WITH ALUMINUM OR SILVER AND AN APPROPRIATE PROTECTIVE MATERIAL SUCH AS SOLGEL. THE FACET WILL BE INTERCHANGEABLE WITH THE GRAPHITE/EPOXY/ALUMINUM PANEL CURRENTLY UNDER DEVELOPMENT AND PROVIDES A CONSERVATIVE "BACK UP" APPROACH. DIMENSIONAL STABILITY, THERMAL PROPERTIES AND CORROSION RESISTANCE ARE SOME OF THE POTENTIAL ADVANTAGES OF THE NEW DESIGN. DURING PHASE I PRELIMINARY DESIGNS AND CONFIRMATION SAMPLES WILL BE DEVELOPED. PHASE II WILL INVOLVE FINAL DESIGN AND FULL SIZE FACET FABRICATION, AND SURFACE CHARACTERIZATION.