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See this picture of the Dragon spacecraft's panels: http://www.space.com/images/i/000/017/802/i02/spacex-dragon-solar-array-deployed.jpg?1337857228 http://www.s

• schwarrrtz 10y ago
  Yeah, you'd think that if they were really optimizing those panels then they'd trim them down to cover the surface with no gaps. This is pretty common in solar racing, for example. http://www.blueskysolar.utoronto.ca/?p=922 http://www.blueskysolar.utoronto.ca/?p=922
  • jedc 10y ago
    I know for a fact key Dragon solar array team members at SpaceX have extensive solar car racing experience, so if they're not trimming cells for maximum coverage, it's for a reason. (I would suspect the benefit doesn't outweigh the cost and/or risk.)
  • TD-Linux 10y ago
    It's common for many types of cells, but much more difficult for Sunpower cells. Instead of having top contacts, Sunpower cells have a fine array of contacts on the bottom [1]. Cutting this without creating shorts or defects is quite difficult. It would be better to have Sunpower custom make them. Given SpaceX deadlines it's possible that they just ran out of time for this optimization. [1] https://sc03.alicdn.com/kf/HTB1XRXrHVXXXXXeaXXXq6xXFXXXM/3-55W-5x5-A-grade-21-24-Highest-Efficiency-maxeon-Mono-Sunpower-C60-Solar-Cell-without.jpg https://sc03.alicdn.com/kf/HTB1XRXrHVXXXXXeaXXXq6xXFXXXM/3-5...