At 9:06 on September 16, China successfully launched multiple satellite internet technology test satellites from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center and placed them into their predetermined orbits. According to information from the commercial space company GalaxySpace, one of the satellite internet technology test satellites in this mission is the world's first rollable fully flexible solar wing satellite developed by the company.
According to Wu Sijie, the solar wing designer at GalaxySpace, the fully flexible solar wing adopts a lightweight, rollable, and high deployment-to-stowage ratio design, solving the problems of traditional rigid solar wings such as large volume, heavy weight, and high deployment complexity. Compared with semi-flexible solar wings, it further improves the weight/volume stowage ratio. "It is like a scroll painting that can be unfurled in space," said Wu Sijie. During launch, the fully flexible solar wing is tightly rolled into a spool and attached to both sides of the satellite, with a diameter roughly the size of a thermos cup. When fully deployed, its area is comparable to a standard conference room, providing the satellite with high-power energy. This feature not only significantly reduces the solar wing's occupation of the satellite's volume and weight but also adapts to the "multi-satellite stacked launch" mode, markedly lowering the cost of space missions.
Chen Mengjiong, senior engineer of the solar cell array at GalaxySpace, explained that rolling a "conference room" into a "thermos cup" involves countless technical challenges. The battery circuits of the fully flexible solar wing must operate stably in the extreme temperature differences and strong radiation environment of space, and the deployment mechanism must achieve "zero-error" controlled operation. Many related technologies have no mature experience to draw from globally. The technical team overcame key challenges such as flexible battery circuit design and precise deployment mechanisms, enabling this fully flexible solar wing to possess space application capabilities.
It is reported that GalaxySpace will continue to optimize the fully flexible solar wing technology in the future, further improving energy density and reliability, and laying the foundation for building more efficient and economical satellites.
