NASA Solar Array Demonstrates Commercial Potential

A state-of-the-art solar-panel array demonstration site at NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center provides a unique opportunity for studying the latest in high-efficiency solar photovoltaic cells. This five-kilowatt solar-array site (see Figure 1) is a technology-transfer and commercialization success for NASA. Among the solar cells at this site are cells of a type that was developed in Dryden Flight Research Center’s Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor Technology (ERAST) program for use in NASA’s Helios solar-powered airplane. This cell type, now denoted as A-300, has since been transferred to SunPower Corporation of Sunnyvale, California, enabling mass production of the cells for the commercial market.