Status of LIPS-II GaAs after five years in orbit

Updated and reduced data through day 1995 as well as conclusions about the performance and behavior of the GaAs panel are presented. The performance of the GaAs panel, after initial severe degradation, is encouraging. The results support other data indicating that GaAs solar cells are a viable space power system component. Taking into account recent advances such as Ge substrate use, multibandgap efforts, and significant performance gains, the author concludes that GaAs cells are ready to become the next generation of photovoltaic cells supplying space power for military and commercial missions.