Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) has successfully deployed its space-grade solar panels on GSAT-10, the heaviest Indian Satellite built by the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro). GSAT-10 was recently launched from French Guyana and caters to the country’s telecommunications and TV broadcasting requirements.
BHEL said in a press release that the four solar panels have an area of 5.36 sq m each and consist of multi-junction solar cells in series and parallel combinations, with a total power capacity of 4,000 watts. BHEL has also supplied two sets of Li-ion batteries for GSAT-10, each consisting of 40 Li-ion cells with a power storage capacity of 160 Ampere-Hours.
The release said the solar panels were subjected to detailed testing by Isro such as vibration test and thermovac tests as part of the space quality requirements to validate their mechanical, electrical and thermal performance.
BHEL, in collaboration with Isro, has established a 10,000-class clean room facility at its Electronics Systems Division in Bangalore for the assembly and testing of space grade solar panels using high-efficiency solar cells.
The company has so far supplied 55 solar panels totalling to 250 square metres of area and 40 batteries for various satellites of Isro.