Solar Array
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Press Releases
Astrobotic Developing XL Solar Array Tech for Lunar Power Infrastructure
NASA has awarded Astrobotic a Small Business Innovation Research Phase II contract to advance development of its Extra Large Vertical Solar Array Technology (VSAT-XL). Towering at over 30 m tall with the ability to generate 50 kW of power from its 20-meter-long solar panels, VSAT-XL would be the largest planned lunar power infrastructure to date to meet the growing power…
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Press Releases
Rocket Lab Expands Satellite Solutions with Customizable Solar Arrays
Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) (“Rocket Lab” or “the Company”), a global leader in launch services and space systems, today introduced the Company’s family of customizable, next-generation solar arrays, Standardized Array (STARRAY), to meet the diverse power needs of satellites operating in any orbital conditions. The new product line was introduced at the 40th Space Symposium in Colorado Springs,…
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NASA
Engineers Install Orion Solar Array Wings for Artemis II
Technicians with ESA (European Space Agency) and Airbus installed the four solar array wings on NASA’s Orion spacecraft for Artemis II on March 3. The solar array wings, attached to the service module, deploy after Orion reaches space to power the spacecraft. Orion’s service module provides propulsion, thermal control, and electrical power, as well as air and water for the crew during…
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Press Releases
Electric Vehicle Owners Can Now Charge Off-Grid, Anywhere, Even While Driving
DartSolar LLC has launched a 1,000-watt solar roof rack that is water-, wind-, and dust-proof. At just 1.5 inches tall, the solar rack expands in only 15 seconds to deliver a 1,000 solar array. In drive mode, the solar roof rack contracts, and charges the electric vehicle with 360 watts of solar panels. In park mode, the solar roof rack…
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NASA
NASA Begins New Deployable Solar Array Tech Demo on Pathfinder Spacecraft
NASA recently evaluated initial flight data and imagery from Pathfinder Technology Demonstrator-4 (PTD-4), confirming proper checkout of the spacecraft’s systems including its on-board electronics as well as the payload’s support systems such as the small onboard camera. Shown above is a test image of Earth taken by the payload camera, shortly after PTD-4 reached orbit. This camera will continue photographing the technology…
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NASA
Testing Europa Clipper’s Solar Arrays
On Aug. 21, 2024, engineers and technicians deployed and tested NASA’s Europa Clipper giant solar arrays. Each array measures about 46.5 feet (14.2 meters) long and about 13.5 feet (4.1 meters) high. Europa Clipper is scheduled to launch Oct. 10, 2024, on the first mission to conduct a detailed science investigation of Jupiter’s moon Europa. Scientists predict Europa has a salty ocean beneath its…
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NASA
NASA’s Europa Clipper Gets Set of Super-Size Solar Arrays
The largest spacecraft NASA has ever built for planetary exploration just got its ‘wings’ — massive solar arrays to power it on the journey to Jupiter’s icy moon Europa. NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft recently got outfitted with a set of enormous solar arrays at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Each measuring about 46½ feet (14.2 meters) long and…
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NASA
Europa Clipper Solar Array Alignment and Install
Technicians move NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility to accommodate installation of its five-panel solar array at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. After moving the spacecraft, the team had to precisely align the spacecraft in preparation for the installation. The huge arrays – spanning more than 100 feet when fully deployed,…
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NASA
NASA’s Europa Clipper Solar Arrays Successfully Deploy at Kennedy Space Center
On March 6, technicians working inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida unfolded and fully extended the first of two five-panel solar arrays for the agency’s Europa Clipper spacecraft. Each solar array measures 46.5 feet in length. For the operation, the team suspended the solar array on a gravity offload support system that helps support the weight of…
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NASA
NASA, SpaceX Launch Solar Arrays, Cargo to Space Station
Following a successful launch of NASA’s SpaceX 28th commercial resupply services mission, two new solar arrays, science investigations, and supplies are on their way to the International Space Station. Carrying more than 7,000 pounds of cargo to the orbiting laboratory, the uncrewed SpaceX Dragon spacecraft launched on the company’s Falcon 9 rocket at 11:47 a.m. EDT, Monday, June 5, from…
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