Testing Solar For Space

OKI Electric Cable has announced
that its 14 meter Flexible Printed Circuit (FPC) was selected by Japan Aerospace
Exploration Agency (JAXA), to be used for their probe, “IKAROS*1,” which is a
small-sized solar-powered sail. Using OKI Electric Cable's 14 meter FPC, JAXA
will conduct field tests of solar energy driving power in space, which will be
the first time in the world that such power will be put to practical use.

OKI Electric Cable's long FPC is
used in IKAROS' sail, which is 14 meters on each side with an area of 200m2. The
FPC will serve as the wiring, connecting the thin film solar cells and various
sensors on the square film face of IKAROS.  During launch, the sail wired by the
FPC will be folded in an X-shape and twisted onto a small tube airframe.  Once
it reaches outer space, the sail will unfold, allowing IKAROS to navigate space
with the small solar-powered sail using only
photons.

“After several months of conducting
performance inspection to check space environmental tolerance, we selected OKI
Electric Cable's as our FPC supplier, not just for their reputation for quality
but also for their good track record with FPCs,” said
Tatsuya
Endo, researcher of JAXA.  “We had
been using cable materials for the wiring before, but materials for this small
solar power sail must be lighter and smaller as well as be able to survive the
extreme space environment. We are pleased to use OKI Electric Cable's FPC for
this important mission.”
 
“We are excited to be part of an important
field test of solar energy power in space. OKI Electric Cable's FPCs will be perfect for this mission.  While it is many
meters long with no joints, it is less than one- hundredth the weight and
thickness of conventional cables,” said Takashi Hattori, President of OKI Electric Cable.
“In addition to the relationship we have with our current customers, I believe
this new achievement with JAXA will enable us to develop new customers in the
fields of medical, industrial and automotive equipment.”

OKI Electric Cable's long FPC is
made from an OKI Electric Cable-original manufacturing method involving a
sheet-line and a roll-line. The two production lines use equipment such as
special hole punchers, large exposure machines, a continuous-process heat press,
large NC routers, etc. OKI also uses another original manufacturing method
called “partial role” production method, and chooses the most suitable equipment
from each line. Thus, OKI Electric Cable is able to respond quickly to various
customer needs by offering highly reliable and high-quality long FPCs with short turn-around-time.