Flywheels / NEO Retrieval

The charged particles in the VAB are attarcted to the anodes and
cathodes of the solar cells. The result is a slow loss of capacity as
the particles dope the material and change its properties from a
semiconductor to a conductor short circuiting the the resulting
circuit. There are materials and processing that are immune to this,
but the solar cells built today are not built with these materials or
process.

This is a general problem with solar cells. It happens even on Earth.
The problem in the VAB is that the density of the particles is so
high. I don't know the lifetimes of solar cells in the VAB but the
terrestrial based solar cells survive about three decades before
something causes them to short circuit. I would be surprised if the
number is significantly different in space.

--- In spacesettlers@y..., Ryan Healey wrote:
> Many solar panels have been known to lose a lot of their power
capacity when
> passing through the Van Allen belts.
>
> Those that have to be in them for a bit of time are likley built
with radiation
> resistance.
>
> --- rmenich@m... wrote:
> > Ian Woollard wrote,
> >
> > "One issue is that solar panels really don't like going through
the Van
> > Allen belt."
> >
> > How do you support that statement? There are plenty of
satellites using
> > solar panels in medium Earth orbit (MEO), aren't there?
> >
> > Ron Menich
>
$8.95/month.