Origami Satellite Solar Panels

Satellites and interstellar or militar y applications 6.

Origami satellite solar panels.

For instance large solar panel arrays for space satellites in the japanese space program have been miura folded before launch and then spread out in space. Like the smart radiator these solar panels can also be used on tiny satellites like cubesats. Origami fold used by nasa to fold and deploy solar panels in space. One notable earlier example involved the use of an origami fold developed by astrophysicist koryo miura to build a solar panel for a japanese satellite.

Miura intended this fold for solar arrays and in 1995 a solar panel with this design was unfolded on the space flyer unit a japanese satellite. Solar power origami style nasa. In 2014 nasa and brigham young university researchers teamed up to make an origami solar panel that. A centuries old japanese tradition is the inspiration behind some new nasa technology.

That happened back in 1995. These panels are light foldable and easily deployable. Solar technolo gy has been growing in popularity around the. Brian trease at nasa s jet propulsion laboratory has been thinking about how it could be used in spacecraft.

3 4 a folded miura fold can be packed into a compact shape its thickness reflecting only the thickness of the folded material. Jet propulsion laboratory researchers have engineered nasa solar panels that are based on the japanese paper folding art origami. But now with an emphasis on small satellites and large structures trease says arrays inspired by this fold could see renewed usefulness. Origami has been a hot topic in technology recently.

The nasa team.