Experience of operating solar arrays on the service module of the International Space Station

The paper provides performance characteristics of solar arrays on the Service Module of the International Space Station obtained in on-orbit tests; a comparison between separate and joint operation of solar array panels, as well as the amount of current generated when the solar arrays are oriented so that their edge or their backside is facing towards the Sun; an estimate of an increase in the generated current produced by the light reflected from the underlying Earth surface; a description of off-nominal situations; temperature variations on the solar array panels; changes in the efficiency of the solar arrays over the 15 years of their life in orbit; a prediction of further nominal changes in the efficiency of solar arrays on the Service Module till 2020 based on the results of studies of the solar array panels retrieved from the Mir space station.