SolarFlex project

Thales Alenia Space in cooperation with the BSTG consorcium (Brno Space Technology Group), which also includes BD SENSORS, recently completed the assembly and testing of an engineering model of the solar array for the Space INSPIRE product line. Featuring ground-breaking technology, this full-scale model will undergo vibration tests in the days ahead. The flexible solar array, aptly named SolarFlex, is a major first for Europe.

About SolarFlex © Thales Alenia Space:

Based on patented Thales Alenia Space technology, the SolarFlex solar array wraps around a rail just like an automatic roller blind. The novel concept relies on latest-generation photovoltaic cells mounted on a flexible substrate. SolarFlex offers high power density, while taking up four to five times less space than before.

Space INSPIRE is itself a compact solution, built on a mid-sized platform, with the medium-term aim being to accommodate two such satellites under a launcher’s fairing. Its solar arrays must be equally compact. Automated photovoltaic assembly (PVA) of solar cells will be performed at Thales Alenia Space’s showcase Industry 4.0 facility in Hasselt, Belgium.

SolarFlex is developed in partnership with the Czech BSTG consortium. This avant-garde project is supported by the French space agency CNES, the Czech government, and the Belgian (BELSPO), through ARTES programs (ARTES Competitiveness & Growth and Novacom II).

The first SolarFlex flight model will fly on the ASTRA-1Q geostationary communications satellite ordered by Luxembourg operator SES in November 2021.