The Plato Sunshield Solar Array

PLATO (PLAnetary Transit and Oscillations of stars) is one of the next medium-class astronomical science ESA missions. It will be dedicated to detection and characterization of terrestrial exoplanets. The spacecraft will operate in the L2 Lagrange point with an operative lifetime of 6.5 years. The Sunshield is part of the service module (SVM) and has the double function of providing power to the spacecraft and of shielding the payload module (PLM) from incident sunlight and heat flux. OHB System AG is the spacecraft prime contractor. Beyond Gravity Switzerland is prime responsible of the sunshield system, and supplier of the structure and of the mechanisms. Thales Alenia Space France is managing the solar array integration and subcontracting the Photovoltaic Assembly to SpaceTech GmbH. Beyond Gravity Austria is providing and integrating the Multi-Layer insulation (MLI) and Optical Surface Reflectors (OSR). The Plato Sunshield Solar Array has the peculiar characteristics of dispensing an equivalent shielding surface of more than 29 square meters by means of a quasi-isostatic structure with four deployable panels, almost entirely populated with solar cells for power generation. This paper describes the making of this hardware and all the development phases performed to meet this challenging target.