NASA Glenn Research Center Power Technologies Advanced Actuator Control Historically, actuation on airplanes and spacecraft has been accomplished by hydraulic means. In an effort to eliminate the leakage hazards associated with the hydraulic systems, NASA Glenn has developed a way to precisely control these same surfaces by using electromechanical actuators that incorporate advanced induction motors and control schemes. Beam Power Systems Earth based laser sites beaming laser power to space assets have shown benefits over competing power system concepts for specific missions. The missions that show benefits of laser beam power are LEO to GEO transfer, LEO to low lunar orbit cargo missions, and lunar base power.
Solar cells are a special class of semiconductors that convert sunlight into electricity.
They do this without pollution, noise, or moving parts. Solar cells or PV cells rely on the photovoltaic effect to absorb the energy of the sun and cause current to flow between two oppositely charge layers. The photovoltaic effect was first reported by a French scientist Edmund Becquerel in 1839. He observed a voltage between two electrodes in a beaker of electrolyte when the beaker was exposed to sunlight. This led him and other 19th century scientist to search for an explanation for this effect.