Solar Arrays From NGC to Power Airbus OneSat Spacecraft

Airbus Defense and Space has awarded a contract to Northrop Grumman Corporation (NGC) for the design, development and production of 24 ship sets of solar arrays to support the OneSat satellite product line. The solar arrays will power the OneSat communication satellites in geosynchronous orbit.

“The technology used for our solar arrays allows for an efficient launch and is one of our many company-designed advanced components that enable satellites of all classes to perform their missions.”

Frank Bernas, vice president, space components and strategic businesses, Northrop Grumman.

The solar array technology features the Northrop Grumman Compact Telescoping Array (CTA) design that utilizes a telescoping boom system to deploy an accordion-folded flexible solar array blanket. The solar arrays are a 20kW-class system that deploys over 18 meters (59 feet) in order to provide energy to OneSat.

“The technology used for our solar arrays allows for an efficient launch and is one of our many company-designed advanced components that enable satellites of all classes to perform their missions,” said Frank Bernas, vice president, space components and strategic businesses, Northrop Grumman.

Northrop Grumman’s CTA system was developed for missions like OneSat that require extremely compact stowage volume for spacecraft launch while remaining lightweight. Northrop Grumman’s CTA creates enough space to allow for three full spacecraft to be launched aboard a single rocket.

The use of Northrop Grumman’s solar arrays to support the OneSat product line builds on the company’s history of mission-enabling capability through solar technology. These technologies are used to support various commercial and civil space programs, including the commercial resupply of the International Space Station through the company’s Cygnus spacecraft, several of its commercial satellites and NASA’s Insight and Phoenix Mars Landers.

In addition to the solar arrays, Northrop Grumman will also provide heat pipes that are an essential element for payload thermal management as well as propellant tanks in support of a mono-propellant propulsion system for OneSat.

OneSat can be fully reconfigured while in orbit – and it is capable of adjusting its coverage area, capacity and frequency “on the fly” to meet evolving mission scenarios. It is a clever mix of the best of Airbus' Eurostar family and the company's mega-constellation expertise.

(Source: NGC news release. Image provided by Airbus)