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Does anyone who knows anything about solar panels have an estimate of how much electricity that could produce?

• ttul 4y ago
  “We do know from US military officials that the balloon itself was around 60 metres in height and that the payload was around the size of a “regional jet” such as the Embraer ERJ, which varies between 26 metres and 30 metres in length. The payload is thought to have weighed around 900 kilograms.” [1] Edit: the photo linked in another comment provided a much better shot of the panels. There seem to be 48 panels oriented horizontally in packs of 3. So we are looking at probably 48x300W = 14kW of power. 1. https://www.newscientist.com/article/2358955-chinese-spy-balloon-everything-we-know-after-us-recovers-wreckage/ https://www.newscientist.com/article/2358955-chinese-spy-bal...
• walrus01 4y ago
  ordinary commercially available terrestrial solar panels (which are heavy when built into glass front panel and backing sheet + aluminum frame), made from high efficiency monocrystalline si cells are commonly maxing out like: 60 x 6W 156mm cells = 360W STC rating 72 x 6W 156mm cells = 430W STC rating or around there. If they used triple junction GaAs cells or something exotic like you'd see on a satellite it could be something very different. The same mono Si cells could be used in something built to be fragile and light weight for attaching to a giant balloon. If it's something thin film the efficiency is probably less.
  • Scoundreller 4y ago
    How much more efficient does solar get at -60C? Or is it just better for longevity?
    • SoftTalker 4y ago
      At 60,000 ft there’s also less atmospheric absorption or reflection of sunlight also.