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Aerospace
Volume 12
Issue 8
10.3390/aerospace12080713
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This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon.
Article

Design, Analysis, and Experimentation of Space Deployable Segmented Solar Concentrator

by
Jinyuan Mei
1,2,
Chunyang Han
1,*,
Zhenbang Xu
1,*,
Yunsheng Qi
1,2,
Qingyu Meng
1,
Zipeng Yang
3 and
Zhongyuan Li
3
1
Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130033, China
2
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
3
Beijing Institute of Astronautical Systems Engineering, Beijing 100076, China
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Aerospace 2025, 12(8), 713; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace12080713
Submission received: 25 April 2025 / Revised: 6 August 2025 / Accepted: 9 August 2025 / Published: 11 August 2025
(This article belongs to the Section Astronautics & Space Science)
Versions Notes

Abstract

To improve the optical concentrator ratio of space solar power stations (SSPSs), this paper proposes a deployable segmented solar concentrator (DSSC) based on an afocal reflective system. First, a novel concept of an afocal reflective concentrator composed of segmented primary and secondary mirrors is introduced, and the deployable mechanism for the segmented primary mirror is described in detail. Subsequently, a model for the comprehensive error of the deployable mechanism with 3D revolute joint clearances and link length errors is established based on the “massless link” equivalent model of the clearance in revolute joints and the homogeneous transfer matrix. Sensitivity analysis evaluates the impact of various geometric errors of the deployable mechanism on the comprehensive error. Finally, a prototype experimental system is built to verify the concentration ratio of the concentrator and the pose error of the deployable mechanism. The experimental results show that the DSSC geometric concentration ratio reaches 5.36 to 6, and the optical concentration ratio reaches 24.7 to 32.2. The repeatability of the deployable mechanism is ±50 µm and ±1.2′, meeting the tolerance requirements of the optical system. The proposed afocal reflective DSSC can be used for solar energy concentration, improving the utilization of solar energy.
Keywords: solar concentrator; afocal reflective system; deployable segmented mirrors; comprehensive error analysis solar concentrator; afocal reflective system; deployable segmented mirrors; comprehensive error analysis

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MDPI and ACS Style

Mei, J.; Han, C.; Xu, Z.; Qi, Y.; Meng, Q.; Yang, Z.; Li, Z. Design, Analysis, and Experimentation of Space Deployable Segmented Solar Concentrator. Aerospace 2025, 12, 713. https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace12080713

AMA Style

Mei J, Han C, Xu Z, Qi Y, Meng Q, Yang Z, Li Z. Design, Analysis, and Experimentation of Space Deployable Segmented Solar Concentrator. Aerospace. 2025; 12(8):713. https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace12080713

Chicago/Turabian Style

Mei, Jinyuan, Chunyang Han, Zhenbang Xu, Yunsheng Qi, Qingyu Meng, Zipeng Yang, and Zhongyuan Li. 2025. "Design, Analysis, and Experimentation of Space Deployable Segmented Solar Concentrator" Aerospace 12, no. 8: 713. https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace12080713

APA Style

Mei, J., Han, C., Xu, Z., Qi, Y., Meng, Q., Yang, Z., & Li, Z. (2025). Design, Analysis, and Experimentation of Space Deployable Segmented Solar Concentrator. Aerospace, 12(8), 713. https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace12080713

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