The SAS supplies power to the satellite during the 59 minutes of sunlight each SAX orbit.
It includes two on-orbit deployable non-sun tracking wings and a Body Mounted Solar Panel (BMSP) for a complete span, when deployed, of 9 m.
Each deployable wing houses three identical panels.
Each panel consists of a main section supplying the Satellite users and a charge section for battery recharging during the sunlight period.
The BMSP is exclusively devoted to battery recharging and therefore consists of two charge sections.
The total of 8700 solar cells will provide the following power performance at End Of Life (EOL) for a Sun Aspect Angle of 30 degrees (the SAA is the angle between the solar vector and the normal to the panels surface):
The basic principle for release is to degrade a Kevlar cable locally by electrically powered knifes.
The qualification of the Solar Panels is mainly based on similarity with the Advanced Rigid Array (ARA) Panels, for the former is a straight derivative from the latter.
However a SAX specific Design Verification Test (DVT) has been performed to qualify the solar panel design with respect to the temperature ranges, gradients and cycles imposed by SAX low Earth orbit.