Design and first results of the solar cell experiment on EIVE

An advanced electronic load circuit was developed to characterise the current–voltage curves of seven metal-wrap-through triple-junction solar cells and four conventional quadruple-junction solar cells produced by AZUR SPACE GmbH. This solar cell experiment was launched aboard the EIVE nanosatellite in June 2023 and has been operational since October 2023. The evaluation of over 5,000 individual curves highlights the need for precise compensation of temperature, sun angle error, and solar flux effects. The corrected data show excellent agreement with ground measurements obtained from solar simulator testing of the same cells. • First-year flight results of an instrument on the CubeSat EIVE. • Literature review on past solar cell experiments provides lessons learned. • Test of metal-wrap-through triple-junction and standard quad-junction solar cells. • Enhanced electronic load design enables accurate current–voltage readings. • Precise cell temperatures and sun angle errors are key for accurate data correction.