I've decided to open the can of worms that's texturing and materials properties... Right now I have a "technical" question :
Are solar panels used on spacecrafts single or dual-sided ? Should they look the same on both faces ?
In some games like say KSP they decided to make the "backside" grey and opaque. But from what I've read here and there its not how things are in real life. It seems that the ISS solar arrays can generate a significant amount of power with the light from the planet albedo, the light reflected by the Earth's surface - mostly water and clouds - (if the ISS is between the Sun and the Earth, one side of the panels generates power from direct sunlight and the other side also generates some power with the planet albedo).
Now maybe dual sided panels are some kind of high-tech, and one-sided would be a cheaper alternative ? I have no idea ; I know nearly nothing about engineering especially when it comes to complex electronics like photovoltaic cells. I guess I could find some junk that has solar cells, break it and see how its done but that would take some time, and that would be very low-end technology which might not be conclusive in regard of space applications.
Are solar panels used on spacecrafts single or dual-sided ? Should they look the same on both faces ?
In some games like say KSP they decided to make the "backside" grey and opaque. But from what I've read here and there its not how things are in real life. It seems that the ISS solar arrays can generate a significant amount of power with the light from the planet albedo, the light reflected by the Earth's surface - mostly water and clouds - (if the ISS is between the Sun and the Earth, one side of the panels generates power from direct sunlight and the other side also generates some power with the planet albedo).
Now maybe dual sided panels are some kind of high-tech, and one-sided would be a cheaper alternative ? I have no idea ; I know nearly nothing about engineering especially when it comes to complex electronics like photovoltaic cells. I guess I could find some junk that has solar cells, break it and see how its done but that would take some time, and that would be very low-end technology which might not be conclusive in regard of space applications.