Did Nasa Invent Solar Panels

60 years ago this week the modern solar cell came into being.

Did nasa invent solar panels.

Government pioneered much of the early pv technology. Solar panels and solar technology has come a long way so these patented inventions are proof that the technology is still improving its efficiency and aesthetics. The hubble space telescope uses solar panels for energy. Solar panels as a viable energy alternative.

Dependency on foreign energy resources. One of humankind s most ambitious projects the international space station iss is dwarfed by the size of its eight 114 foot 35 meter long solar array wings. In the 1970s an oil shortage brought awareness of u s. Today a solar panel can cost as little as 0 50 a watt.

The invention of the solar cell. Each wing contains around 33 000 solar cells which convert about 14 percent of the sunlight that hits them into usable energy source. Naval research laboratory launched vanguard i the first spacecraft to use solar panels in 1958 and nasa launched the first satellite equipped with panels that tracked the sun nimbus i in 1964. By 1975 that figure had dropped to just over 100 a watt.

Since the year 1980 solar panel prices have dropped by at least 10 percent every single year. In 1956 solar panels cost roughly 300 per watt. You don t have to look far to see how important solar power is to nasa. It was a time of high inflation when americans were squeezed economically and shortages in essentials made the need for further innovation glaringly evident.

When and more importantly who invented solar panels is a complex question. Researchers at nasa ames are conducting cutting edge research in the development of clean energy technologies for nasa mission needs in the exploration systems mission directorate and the science mission directorate our renewable energy focus is on advancing biofuels solar and wind technologies that also help reduce our nation s dependence on petroleum based fuels. While we can pinpoint the major steps towards its invention countless researchers and scientists over the last 200 years each contributed small breakthroughs that led to the modern solar panel.