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NASA NTRS2006

Impact of Solar Array Designs on High Voltage Operations

As power levels of advanced spacecraft climb above 25 kW, higher solar array operating voltages become attractive. Even in today s satellites, operating spacecraft buses at 100 V and above has led to arcing in GEO communications satellites, so the issue of spacecraft charging and solar array arcing remains a design problem. In addition, micrometeoroid impacts on all of these arrays can also lead to arcing if the spacecraft is at an elevated potential. For example, tests on space station hardware disclosed arcing at 75V on anodized A1 structures that were struck with hypervelocity particles in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) plasmas. Thus an understanding of these effects is necessary to design reliable high voltage solar arrays of the future, especially in light of the Vision for Space Exploration of NASA. In the future, large GEO communication satellites, lunar bases, solar electric propulsion missions, high power communication systems around Mars can lead to power levels well above 100 kW. As noted above, it will be essential to increase operating voltages of the solar arrays well above 80 V to keep the mass of cabling needed to carry the high currents to an acceptable level. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to discuss various solar array approaches, to discuss the results of testing them at high voltages, in the presence of simulated space plasma and under hypervelocity impact. Three different types of arrays will be considered. One will be a planar array using thin film cells, the second will use planar single or multijunction cells and the last will use the Stretched Lens Array (SLA - 8-fold concentration). Each of these has different approaches for protection from the space environment. The thin film cell based arrays have minimal covering due to their inherent radiation tolerance, conventional GaAs and multijunction cells have the traditional cerium-doped microsheet glasses (of appropriate thickness) that are usually attached with Dow Corning DC 93-500 silicone adhesive. In practice, these cover glasses and adhesive do not cover the cell edges. Finally, in the SLA, the entire cell and cell edges are fully encapsulated by a cover glass that overhangs the cell perimeter and the silicone adhesive covers the cell edges providing a sealed environment. These three types of blanket technology have been tested at GRC and Auburn. The results of these tests will be described. For example, 15 modules composed of four state-of-the-art 2x4 cm GaAs solar cells with 150 pm cover glasses connected in two-cell series strings were tested at high voltage, in plasma under hypervelocity impact. A picture of one of the modules is shown in figure 1. These were prepared by standard industry practice from a major supplier and had efficiencies above 18%. The test results and other fabrication factors that influenced the tests will be presented. In addition, results for SLA segments tested under the same conditions will be presented. Testing of thin film blankets at GRC will also be presented. Figure 1 : Typical GaAs Solar Cell Module These results will show significant differences in resistance to arcing that are directly related to array design and manufacturing procedures. Finally, the approaches for mitigating the problems uncovered by these tests will be described. These will lay the foundation for future higher voltage array operation, even including voltages above 300-600 V for direct drive SEP applications.

Brandhorst, Henry W., Jr.↗

NASA NTRS1981

The Spacelab Lyman alpha and white light coronagraphs program

The Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and the High Altitude Observatory have defined a joint coronagraphs experiment for a future Spacelab mission. The instrumentation package would include an ultraviolet light coronagraph to measure the intensity and profiles of spectral lines formed between 1.2 and 8 solar radii from sun center and a white light coronagraph to measure the intensity and polarization of visible light. The overall goals of the joint program are to use new coronal plasma diagnostic techniques to understand the physical processes and mechanisms operating in the solar corona, to understand the acceleration of high-speed and low-speed solar wind streams and to extrapolate this knowledge to other stars in order to help understand the physics of stellar coronae and stellar mass loss.

Kohl, J. L.↗

NASA NTRS2005

Imaging Dot Patterns for Measuring Gossamer Space Structures

A paper describes a photogrammetric method for measuring the changing shape of a gossamer (membrane) structure deployed in outer space. Such a structure is typified by a solar sail comprising a transparent polymeric membrane aluminized on its Sun-facing side and coated black on the opposite side. Unlike some prior photogrammetric methods, this method does not require an artificial light source or the attachment of retroreflectors to the gossamer structure. In a basic version of the method, the membrane contains a fluorescent dye, and the front and back coats are removed in matching patterns of dots. The dye in the dots absorbs some sunlight and fluoresces at a longer wavelength in all directions, thereby enabling acquisition of high-contrast images from almost any viewing angle. The fluorescent dots are observed by one or more electronic camera(s) on the Sun side, the shade side, or both sides. Filters that pass the fluorescent light and suppress most of the solar spectrum are placed in front of the camera(s) to increase the contrast of the dots against the background. The dot image(s) in the camera(s) are digitized, then processed by use of commercially available photogrammetric software.

Dorrington, A. A.↗

NASA NTRS1995

Cosmological implications of ROSAT observations of groups and clusters of galaxies

We have combined ROSAT Position Sensitive Proportional Counter (PSPC) and optical observations of a sample of groups and clusters of galaxies to determine the fundamental parameters of these systems (e.g., the dark matter distribution, gas mass fraction, baryon mass fraction, mass-to-light ratio, and the ratio of total-to-luminous mass). Imaging X-ray spectroscopy of groups and clusters show that the gas is essentially isothermal beyond the central region, indicating that the total mass density (mostly dark matter) scales as rho(sub dark) varies as 1/r squared. The density profile of the hot X-ray emitting gas is fairly flat in groups with rho(sub gas) varies as 1/r and becomes progressively steeper in hotter richer systems, with rho(sub gas) varies as 1/r squared in the richest clusters. These results show, that in general, the hot X-ray-emitting gas is the most extended mass component in groups and clusters, the galaxies are the most centrally concentrated component, and the dark matter is intermediate between the two. The flatter density rofile of the hot gas compared to the dark matter produces a gas mass fraction that increases with radius within each object. There is also a clear trend of increasing gas mass fraction (from 2% to 30%) between elliptical galaxies and rich clusters due to the greater detectable extent of the X-ray emission in richer systems. For the few systems in which the X-ray emission can be traced to the virial radius (where the overdensity delta is approximately equal 200), the gas mass fraction (essentially the baryon mass fraction) approaches a roughly constant value of 30%, suggesting that this is the true primordial value. Based on standard big bang nucleosynthesis, the large baryon mass fraction implies that Omega = 0.1 - 0.2. The antibiased gas distribution suggests that feedback from galaxy formation and hydrodynamics play important roles in the formation of structure on the scale of galaxies to rich clusters. All the groups and clusters in our sample have mass-to-light ratios of M/L(sub V) approximately 100 - 150 solar mass/solar luminosity, which strongly contrasts with the traditional view that the mass-to-light ratio of rich clusters is significantly greater than individual galaxies or groups with M/L(sub V) approximately 250 - 300 solar mass/solar luminosity. We also show that M/L(sub V is essentially constant within the virial radius of clusters (where delta is greater than or approximately 200), which is consistent with the peaks formalism of biased galaxy formation. While the mass-to-light ratios of groups and clusters are comparable (indicating a constant mass fraction of optically luminous material), the ratio of the total mass-to-luminous mass (gas plus stars) monotonically decreases between galaxies and clusters. The decrease in M(sub total)/M(sub lum) arises from two factors: (1) the composition of baryonic matter varies from a predominance of optically luminous material (stars) on the scale of galaxies (approximately 10 kpc) to a predominance of X-ray luminous material (hot gas) on the scale of rich clusters (approximately 1 Mpc), and (2) the hot gas has a more extended spatial distribution than the gravitating matter. The observed decrease M(sub total)/M(sub lum) between galaxies and clusters indicates that the universe actually becomes `brighter' on mass scales between 10(exp 12) and 10(exp 15) solar mass, in the sense that a greater fraction of the gravitating mass is observable.

David, Laurence P.↗

NASA NTRS1982

Progress toward thin-film GaAs solar cells using a single-crystal Si substrate with a Ge interlayer

Development of a technology for fabricating light-weight, high-efficiency, radiation-resistant solar cells for space applications is reported. The approaches currently adopted are to fabricate shallow homojunction n(+)/p as well as p/n AlGaAs-heteroface GaAs solar cells by organometallic chemical vapor deposition (OM-CVD) on single-crystal Si substrates using in each case, a thin Ge epi-interlayer first grown by CVD. This approach maintains the advantages of the low specific gravity of Si as well as the high efficiency and radiation-resistant properties of the GaAs solar cell which can lead to greatly improved specific power for a solar array. The growth of single-crystal GaAs epilayers on Ge epi-interlayers on Si substrates is investigated. Related solar cell fabrication is reviewed.

Yeh, Y. C. M.↗

NASA NTRS1994

Low-Reflectance Surfaces For Solar Cells

Improved method for increasing solar cell efficiency has potential application for space-based and terrestrial solar power systems and optoelectronic devices. Etched low-angle grooves help recover reflected light. Light reflected from v-grooved surface trapped in cover glass and adhesive by total internal reflection. Reflected light redirected onto surface, and greater fraction of incident light absorbed, producing more electrical energy in InP solar photovoltaic cell.

Bailey, Sheila G.↗

NASA NTRS2002

Evaluation of two fiber optic-based solar collection and distribution systems for advanced space life support

Growing plants in an enclosed controlled environment is crucial in developing bioregenerative life-support systems (BLSS) for space applications. The major challenge currently facing a BLSS is the extensive use of highly energy-intensive electric light sources, which leads to substantial energy wastes through heat dissipations by these lamps. An alternative lighting strategy is the use of a solar irradiance collection, transmission, and distribution system (SICTDS). Two types of fiber optic-based SICTDS, a Fresnel-lens Himawari and a parabolic-mirror optical waveguide (OW) lighting system, were evaluated. The overall efficiency for the OW SICTDS of 40.5% exceeded by 75% that for the Himawari of 23.2%. The spectral distributions of the light delivered by the Himawari and the OW SICTDS were almost identical and had practically no difference from that of terrestrial solar radiation. The ratios of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) to total emitted radiation (k) of 0.39 +/- 0.02 for the Himawari and 0.41 +/- 0.04 for the OW SICTDS were statistically indistinguishable, were not significantly different from that of 0.042 +/- 0.01 for terrestrial solar radiation, and were comparable to that of 0.35 for a high-pressure sodium (HPS) lamp. The coefficients of variation (CV) of 0.34 and 0.39 for PPF distributions, both at 50 mm X 50 mm square grid arrays, corresponding to the Himawari and the OW SICTDS, respectively, were comparable with each other but were both significantly greater than the CV of 0.08 corresponding to the HPS lamp. The average fresh weight or dry weight of lettuce grown in the solar chamber with either the Himawari or the OW SICTDS showed no statistical difference from the average fresh weight or dry weight of lettuce grown in the reference chamber with the HPS lamp. The results of this study suggest that an SICTDS could help reduce the electric power demand in a BLSS.

NASA Discipline Life Support Systems↗

NASA NTRS2009

Detecting Exoplanets with the New Worlds Observer: The Problem of Exozodiacal Dust

Dust coming from asteroids and comets will strongly affect direct imaging and characterization of terrestrial planets in the Habitable Zones of nearby stars. Such dust in the Solar System is called the zodiacal dust (or 'zodi' for short). Higher levels of similar dust are seen around many nearby stars, confined in disks called debris disks. Future high-contrast images of an Earth-like exoplanet will very likely be background-limited by light scattered of both the local Solar System zodi and the circumstellar dust in the extrasolar system (the exozodiacal dust). Clumps in the exozodiacal dust, which are expected in planet-hosting systems, may also be a source of confusion. Here we discuss the problems associated with imaging an Earth-like planet in the presence of unknown levels of exozodiacal dust. Basic formulae for the exoplanet imaging exposure time as function of star, exoplanet, zodi, exozodi, and telescope parameters will be presented. To examine the behavior of these formulae, we apply them to the New Worlds Observer (NWO) mission. NWO is a proposed 4-meter UV/optical/near-IR telescope, with a free flying starshade to suppress the light from a nearby star and achieve the high contrast needed for detection and characterization of a terrestrial planet in the star's Habitable Zone. We find that NWO can accomplish its science goals even if exozodiacal dust levels are typically much higher than the Solar System zodi level. Finally, we highlight a few additional problems relating to exozodiacal dust that have yet to be solved.

Roberge, A.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Visible and near-ultraviolet spectroscopy at Thule AFB (76.5 N) from January 28 - February 15, 1988

Near-ultraviolet and visible spectrographs identical to those employed at McMurdo Station, Antarctica (77.8 S) during the austral spring seasons of 1986 and 1987 were used to study the stratosphere above Thule, Greenland (76.5 N) during early spring, 1988. Observations were carried out both at night using the direct moon as a light source, and during the day by collecting the scattered light from the zenith sky when solar zenith angles were less than about 94.5 degrees. Excellent meteorological conditions prevailed in the troposphere and stratosphere at Thule. Surface weather was extremely clear over most of the period, facilitating measurements of the direct light from the moon. The lower stratospheric arctic polar vortex was located very near Thule throughout the observing period, and temperature at the 30 mbar level were typically below -80 C above Thule, according to the National Meteorological Center daily analyses. Thus conditions were favorable for polar stratospheric cloud formation above Thule. Total column ozone abundances were about 350 to 400 Dobson units, and did not suggest a clear temporal trend over the observing period. Stratospheric nitrogen dioxide measurements were complicated by the presence of a large component of tropospheric pollution on many occasions. Stratospheric nitrogen dioxide could be identified on most days using the absorption in the scattered light from the zenith sky, which greatly enhances the stratospheric airmass while suppressing the tropospheric contribution. These measurements suggest that the total vertical column abundance of nitrogen dioxide present over Thule in February was extremely low, sometimes as low as 3 x 10 to the 14th per sq cm. The abundance of nitrogen dioxide increased systemically from about 3 x 10 to the 14th in late January to 1.0 x 10 to the 15th per sq cm in mid-February, perhaps because of photolysis of N2O5 in the upper part of the stratosphere, near 25 to 35 km.

Mount, G. H.↗

NASA NTRS1974

Six-color photometry of Iapetus, Titan, Rhea, Dione and Tethys

The extensive photometric observations of Titan, Iapetus, Rhea, Dione and Tethys have made it possible to separate the solar phase and orbital phase contributions to the observed light variations of these satellites. For Titan, the wavelength dependence of its solar phase coefficient has been obtained. This dependence should prove useful in constructing future model atmospheres. The other four satellites show a surprising array of different photometric behaviors. Despite these differences, all four satellites have similar spectral reflectivities. Clearly Iapetus, Rhea, Dione and Tethys are complex objects, varying substantially from one another in surface structure and/or composition.

Noland, M.↗

NASA NTRS2007

Ultra-Lightweight Hybrid Thin-Film Solar Cells: A Survey of Enabling Technologies for Space Power Applications

The development of hybrid inorganic/organic thin-film solar cells on flexible, lightweight, space-qualified, durable substrates provides an attractive solution for fabricating solar arrays with high mass specific power (W/kg). Next generation thin-film technologies may well involve a revolutionary change in materials to organic-based devices. The high-volume, low-cost fabrication potential of organic cells will allow for square miles of solar cell production at one-tenth the cost of conventional inorganic materials. Plastic solar cells take a minimum of storage space and can be inflated or unrolled for deployment. We will explore a cross-section of in-house and sponsored research efforts that aim to provide new hybrid technologies that include both inorganic and polymer materials as active and substrate materials. Research at University of Texas at Arlington focuses on the fabrication and use of poly(isothianaphthene-3,6-diyl) in solar cells. We describe efforts at Norfolk State University to design, synthesize and characterize block copolymers. A collaborative team between EIC Laboratories, Inc. and the University of Florida is investigating multijunction polymer solar cells to more effectively utilize solar radiation. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Ohio Aerospace Institute (OAI) group has undertaken a thermal analysis of potential metallized substrates as well as production of nanoparticles of CuInS2 and CuInSe2 in good yield at moderate temperatures via decomposition of single-source precursors. Finally, preliminary work at the Rochester Institute of Technology (R.I.T.) to assess the impact on performance of solar cells of temperature and carbon nanotubes is reported. Technologies that must be developed to enable ultra-lightweight solar arrays include: monolithic interconnects, lightweight array structures, and new ultra-light support and deployment mechanisms. For NASA applications, any solar cell or array technology must not only meet weight and AMO efficiency goals, but also must be durable enough to survive launch conditions and space environments.

Hepp, Aloysius F.↗

NASA NTRS2018

Earthshine as an Illumination Source at the Moon

Earthshine is the dominant source of natural illumination on the surface of the Moon during lunar night, and at some locations within permanently shadowed regions (PSRs) near the poles that never receive direct sunlight. As such, earthshine has the potential to enable the scientific investigation and exploration of conditions in areas of the Moon that are either temporarily or permanently hidden from the Sun. Earthshine has also been used to refer to Earthlight reflected from the lunar surface, but in this study we use it to refer specifically to Earthlight incident at the Moon. Under certain circumstances, the heat flux from earthshine could also influence the transport and cold-trapping of volatiles present in the very coldest areas within PSRs. In this study, Earth's spectral irradiance, as it would appear at the Moon in the solar reflectance band (0.3–3.0 µm) and at thermal emission wavelengths (3–50 µm), is examined with a suite of model image cubes and whole-disk spectra created using the Virtual Planetary Laboratory (VPL) three-dimensional (latitude, longitude and altitude) modeling capability. At the Moon, the broadband, hemispherical irradiance from Earth at full-phase is approximately 0.15 W m−2 with comparable contributions from solar reflectance and thermal emission; for context, this about 0.01% that of solar irradiance and has an equivalent temperature of around 40 K. Over the simulated timeframe, spanning two lunations, Earth's thermal irradiance shows very little net change (less than a few mW m−2 resulting from cloud variability and the south-to-north motion of the sub-observer latitude on Earth). In the solar band, Earth's diurnally averaged light curve at phase angles g ≤ 60° is well-fit using a Henyey–Greenstein integral phase function. At wavelengths longward of about 0.7 µm, near the well-known vegetation “red edge”, Earth's reflected solar radiance shows significant diurnal modulation as a result of the broad maximum in projected landmass at terrestrial longitudes between 60°W and 0°, as well as from the distribution of clouds. A simple formulation with adjustable coefficients is presented, condensed from the VPL model grid, for estimating Earth's hemispherical irradiance at the Moon as a function of wavelength, phase angle and sub-observer coordinates (terrestrial latitude and longitude). Uncertainties in any one prediction are estimated to be 10–12% at 0.3 µm, rising to >25% near 2.5 µm as a result of the increasing relative brightness and unpredictable influence of clouds. Although coefficient values are derived from a suite of spring equinox models, the approximation appears to be valid for all seasons, to within the stated uncertainties. It is demonstrated that earthshine is sufficiently bright to serve as a natural illumination source for optical measurements on a robotic lander/rover, allowing the identification of water ice mixed with regolith at the percent-level of fractional area.

Surface↗

NASA NTRS1977

The sawtooth cover slide

A novel cover slide is reported which increases solar cell output by reducing the reflection of light from the cover slide surface and by redirecting incident light so that none falls on the collection grids of the cell. The new cover slide is fabricated with a sawtooth surface having a periodicity equal to that of the solar cell grids. This configuration refracts the light so that it is directed onto the semiconductor surface between the grid lines. Conventional grid patterns obstruct 7-10 percent of the light incident on the cell; at least half of this loss has been recovered by using the sawtooth cover slide. In addition, surface reflection from the conventional coated cover slide is suppressed by presenting a second surface to any light reflected at the first plane of contact. This double reflection results in a greater reduction of the reflection loss from the cover slide than does an antireflection coating on a flat surface.

Meulenberg, A., Jr.↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Advancing Launch Readiness of the Europa Light Microscope

The search for life in our solar system relies on our ability to measure key biomarkers in situ and identify them as likely of biotic origin. One class of biomarkers that would be indicative of life is cell-like features such as the colocalization of key biochemicals, spatial organization of native UV fluorescent compounds, and polarization across membrane compartments. The Europa Lander Science Definition Team has emphasized the need for a light microscope to search for these features on Europa, and the Europa Light Microscope (ELM) has been developed to address this need. This work presents the development towards high launch readiness of ELM by demonstrating its optical resolution under brightfield illumination, deep UV fluorescence imaging of unstained living samples, and multicolor imaging of samples stained with exogenous fluorophores targeting proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids. This work also seeks to extend the capabilities of ELM by incorporating fluorescence-based assays for membrane potential as a key biomarker for living cellular material.

Pavel Erich Zivanovic Klier↗

NASA NTRS1992

Grounding of space structures

Space structures, such as the Space Station solar arrays, must be extremely light-weight, flexible structures. Accurate prediction of the natural frequencies and mode shapes is essential for determining the structural adequacy of components, and designing a controls system. The tension pre-load in the 'blanket' of photovoltaic solar collectors, and the free/free boundary conditions of a structure in space, causes serious reservations on the use of standard finite element techniques of solution. In particular, a phenomenon known as 'grounding', or false stiffening, of the stiffness matrix occurs during rigid body rotation. This paper examines the grounding phenomenon in detail. Numerous stiffness matrices developed by others are examined for rigid body rotation capability, and found lacking. A force imbalance inherent in the formulations examined is the likely cause of the grounding problem, suggesting the need for a directed force formulation.

Bosela, P. A.↗

NASA NTRS1992

A new pre-loaded beam geometric stiffness matrix with full rigid body capabilities

Space structures, such as the Space Station solar arrays, must be extremely light-weight, flexible structures. Accurate prediction of the natural frequencies and mode shapes is essential for determining the structural adequacy of components, and designing a controls system. The tension pre-load in the 'blanket' of photovoltaic solar collectors, and the free/free boundary conditions of a structure in space, causes serious reservations on the use of standard finite element techniques of solution. In particular, a phenomenon known as 'grounding', or false stiffening, of the stiffness matrix occurs during rigid body rotation. The authors have previously shown that the grounding phenomenon is caused by a lack of rigid body rotational capability, and is typical in beam geometric stiffness matrices formulated by others, including those which contain higher order effects. The cause of the problem was identified as the force imbalance inherent in the formulations. In this paper, the authors develop a beam geometric stiffness matrix for a directed force problem, and show that the resultant global stiffness matrix contains complete rigid body mode capabilities, and performs very well in the diagonalization methodology customarily used in dynamic analysis.

Bosela, P. A.↗

NASA NTRS2008

NASA Tech Briefs, September 2008

Topics covered include: Nanotip Carpets as Antireflection Surfaces; Nano-Engineered Catalysts for Direct Methanol Fuel Cells; Capillography of Mats of Nanofibers; Directed Growth of Carbon Nanotubes Across Gaps; High-Voltage, Asymmetric-Waveform Generator; Magic-T Junction Using Microstrip/Slotline Transitions; On-Wafer Measurement of a Silicon-Based CMOS VCO at 324 GHz; Group-III Nitride Field Emitters; HEMT Amplifiers and Equipment for their On-Wafer Testing; Thermal Spray Formation of Polymer Coatings; Improved Gas Filling and Sealing of an HC-PCF; Making More-Complex Molecules Using Superthermal Atom/Molecule Collisions; Nematic Cells for Digital Light Deflection; Improved Silica Aerogel Composite Materials; Microgravity, Mesh-Crawling Legged Robots; Advanced Active-Magnetic-Bearing Thrust- Measurement System; Thermally Actuated Hydraulic Pumps; A New, Highly Improved Two-Cycle Engine; Flexible Structural-Health-Monitoring Sheets; Alignment Pins for Assembling and Disassembling Structures; Purifying Nucleic Acids from Samples of Extremely Low Biomass; Adjustable-Viewing-Angle Endoscopic Tool for Skull Base and Brain Surgery; UV-Resistant Non-Spore-Forming Bacteria From Spacecraft-Assembly Facilities; Hard-X-Ray/Soft-Gamma-Ray Imaging Sensor Assembly for Astronomy; Simplified Modeling of Oxidation of Hydrocarbons; Near-Field Spectroscopy with Nanoparticles Deposited by AFM; Light Collimator and Monitor for a Spectroradiometer; Hyperspectral Fluorescence and Reflectance Imaging Instrument; Improving the Optical Quality Factor of the WGM Resonator; Ultra-Stable Beacon Source for Laboratory Testing of Optical Tracking; Transmissive Diffractive Optical Element Solar Concentrators; Delaying Trains of Short Light Pulses in WGM Resonators; Toward Better Modeling of Supercritical Turbulent Mixing; JPEG 2000 Encoding with Perceptual Distortion Control; Intelligent Integrated Health Management for a System of Systems; Delay Banking for Managing Air Traffic; and Spline-Based Smoothing of Airfoil Curvatures.

Source record↗

NASA NTRS2014

Validation of Spherically Symmetric Inversion by Use of a Tomographically Reconstructed Three-Dimensional Electron Density of the Solar Corona

Determining the coronal electron density by the inversion of white-light polarized brightness (pB) measurements by coronagraphs is a classic problem in solar physics. An inversion technique based on the spherically symmetric geometry (spherically symmetric inversion, SSI) was developed in the 1950s and has been widely applied to interpret various observations. However, to date there is no study of the uncertainty estimation of this method. We here present the detailed assessment of this method using a three-dimensional (3D) electron density in the corona from 1.5 to 4 solar radius as a model, which is reconstructed by a tomography method from STEREO/COR1 observations during the solar minimum in February 2008 (Carrington Rotation, CR 2066).We first show in theory and observation that the spherically symmetric polynomial approximation (SSPA) method and the Van de Hulst inversion technique are equivalent. Then we assess the SSPA method using synthesized pB images from the 3D density model, and find that the SSPA density values are close to the model inputs for the streamer core near the plane of the sky (POS) with differences generally smaller than about a factor of two; the former has the lower peak but extends more in both longitudinal and latitudinal directions than the latter. We estimate that the SSPA method may resolve the coronal density structure near the POS with angular resolution in longitude of about 50 deg. Our results confirm the suggestion that the SSI method is applicable to the solar minimum streamer (belt), as stated in some previous studies. In addition, we demonstrate that the SSPA method can be used to reconstruct the 3D coronal density, roughly in agreement with the reconstruction by tomography for a period of low solar activity (CR 2066). We suggest that the SSI method is complementary to the 3D tomographic technique in some cases, given that the development of the latter is still an ongoing research effort.

corona↗