
Chapter 9
Solar Cell Development Work at
COMSAT Laboratories (1967–1975)
Denis J. Curtin
Former Chief Operating Officer, XTAR LLC, Rockville, MD 20855, USA
At COMSAT Laboratories in 1967, the Spacecraft Laboratory studied
all non-communications aspects of the communications satellites;
that is, everything related to the satellite itself including structure,
thermal attitude, power, etc. In my case, I was responsible for
primary power development in the Electric Power Department of
the Spacecraft Laboratory. In 1967, all satellites were powered by
silicon solar cells. We examined every major type of solar cell
that was available in manufacture or under development ...