Welsom solar (was Space based solar power will never be half the

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> > Kevin, 16.8 KW / kg is difficult to believe. At such a high performance, space based solar power would beeconomicaly viable today without need to reduce launch costs. Who is the vendor? Please provide spec sheets? Are these cells space qualified?
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> See message 8659 posted Tue Oct 12, 2010:
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> "
> Also to All,
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> 1.4 GW of production now exists for a-Si:H thin film solar PV with manufacturing systems amenable to 1.5 micron thin solar PV on ATOX and radiation resistant polyimide. 1.4 GW is the ground rating for these solar cells, while in space they perform yearly at a ten times better rating.
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The space rating of cells is not ten tiems the ground rating, that is complete nonsense.

For systems it is a different matter, but the cells themselves perform about the same.

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> Some details seem to be here (which I found by serching Google for "Welsom Space Power":
> http://www.spacefuture.com/archive/early_commercial_demonstration_of_space_solar_power_using_ultra_lightweight_arrays.shtml
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That link quotes "Architecture and technology for Ultra-lightweight thin-film solar arrays with specific energy exceeding 1 kW/kg."

So where does Kevin get his number of 16.8 KW / kg ?