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    Hubble Facts Hubble's New Solar Arrays

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    Bob Andrepont
    1) Hubble's new solar arrays provide 20% more power while being one third smaller in size due to being more efficient. 2) The new arrays are flat, rigid panels that fold instead of roll up like the original arrays, making them more stable during temperature fluctuations. 3) An international collaboration between NASA and ESA produced the new arrays, with ESA contributing array design and testing in facilities that could simulate Hubble's orbital conditions.

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    Hubble Facts Hubble's New Solar Arrays

    Uploaded by

    Bob Andrepont
    130 views2 pages
    1) Hubble's new solar arrays provide 20% more power while being one third smaller in size due to being more efficient. 2) The new arrays are flat, rigid panels that fold instead of roll up like the original arrays, making them more stable during temperature fluctuations. 3) An international collaboration between NASA and ESA produced the new arrays, with ESA contributing array design and testing in facilities that could simulate Hubble's orbital conditions.

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    1) Hubble's new solar arrays provide 20% more power while being one third smaller in size due to being more efficient. 2) The new arrays are flat, rigid panels that fold instead of roll up like the original arrays, making them more stable during temperature fluctuations. 3) An international collaboration between NASA and ESA produced the new arrays, with ESA contributing array design and testing in facilities that could simulate Hubble's orbital conditions.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    130 views2 pages

    Hubble Facts Hubble's New Solar Arrays

    Uploaded by

    Bob Andrepont
    1) Hubble's new solar arrays provide 20% more power while being one third smaller in size due to being more efficient. 2) The new arrays are flat, rigid panels that fold instead of roll up like the original arrays, making them more stable during temperature fluctuations. 3) An international collaboration between NASA and ESA produced the new arrays, with ESA contributing array design and testing in facilities that could simulate Hubble's orbital conditions.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 2

    FS-2002-1-032-GSFC/HST 2/4/02 12:08 PM Page 1

    Hubble Facts
    National Aeronautics and
    Space Administration
    Goddard Space Flight Center
    Greenbelt, Maryland 20771
    (301) 286-8955

    FS-2002-1-032-GSFC

    HUBBLE’S NEW SOLAR ARRAYS

    Hubble gets an updated look and a boost in power Such dramatic, repeated temperature changes may
    during STS-109 with the addition of smaller, more effi- cause tiny vibrations and movements within a space-
    cient solar panels, called arrays. Unlike Hubble’s first craft’s solar array structure. If these movements are
    two pairs, which are so flexible that they roll up like large enough, they cause motion of the main body of
    window shades, Hubble’s newest solar arrays are flat the telescope, and may affect the sensitivity of
    and rigid and fold up rather than roll up. Hubble’s pointing control instruments and interfere
    with long-term science observations.
    More Power for Discoveries This excessive movement was observed with
    Though one third less solar cell area, these third- Hubble’s original solar arrays, which were replaced in
    generation arrays will produce 20 percent more power 1993 with a much more stable pair. Since then,
    than the current set. The new arrays collect the extra advances in solar cell technology and spacecraft design
    electricity needed to power a new generation of science have led to the development of even more stable and
    instruments. This added power enables all the science efficient solar arrays.
    instruments to be powered on and ready to operate
    simultaneously—allowing for more discoveries in less Easy Maneuvering, Less Aero-drag
    time. These smaller, stiffer arrays are easier for the astro-
    nauts to work around during servicing
    Stronger and More Stable missions—easier to fold up and move out of their way.
    The high efficiency solar panels have supporting Their smaller size decreases on-orbit drag and slows
    frames made of aluminum-lithium, which is stronger the rate at which Hubble’s orbit decays. Over time, all
    and lighter than the type of aluminum commonly used low Earth orbiting satellites feel the effects of atmos-
    in spacecraft construction. These supports are much pheric drag and lose altitude. These new arrays will
    less sensitive to the extreme temperature changes of slow that rate of altitude loss.
    Hubble’s harsh environment.
    During each 97-minute orbit, Hubble spends about Saving Time and Money
    two-thirds of its time in searing sunlight and the other The Hubble program bought these solar panels
    third in the frigid darkness of Earth’s shadow. These from the production line of a commercial system of
    brutal, rapidly cycling conditions cause the tempera- communications satellites. At NASA’s Goddard Space
    ture of the solar panels to fluctuate between minus 94 Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., four of these panels
    degrees Fahrenheit (minus 70 degrees Celsius) and 187 were attached to an aluminum-lithium support wing
    degrees Fahrenheit (86 degrees Celsius). The solar structure to create each of the complete structures
    arrays reach their hottest temperature just ten minutes called “wings.” A total of 8 panels were used in the
    after leaving the chill of Earth’s shadow. construction of these two wings. Hubble team mem-
    FS-2002-1-032-GSFC/HST 2/4/02 12:08 PM Page 2

    bers at Goddard fabricated the support wing structures, ESA also provided the ability to test the new arrays
    the composite mast assembly, and the electrical assem- in a unique, never-before-done way. ESA’s world-class
    bly for these wings. By using these off-the-shelf panels test facility in The Netherlands features a huge test
    and fabricating the support systems at Goddard the chamber that can realistically simulate the extreme
    Hubble program saved considerable time and expense. temperature cycles of Hubble’s orbit—including sun-
    rise and sunset. This chamber, combined with the size
    of the new array and ESA’s vast Hubble experience,
    made this facility the only place in the world capable of
    performing this test.
    In October of 2000, one of the new arrays was
    shipped to the ESA test site, located at the European
    Space Research and Technology Center (ESTEC) in
    Noordwijk, The Netherlands. Here the combined
    ESA/NASA team conducted the special thermal test to
    measure the amount of movement produced within the
    solar array due to the harsh extremes of Hubble’s envi-
    ronment. After extensive evaluation, the team verified
    that Hubble’s new arrays would stay steady throughout
    the extreme temperature cycles of each orbit.
    The overall area of Solar Array 3 is 45 percent less
    than SA2
    FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONTACT:
    An International Team, a World-Class Test
    Hubble’s new solar arrays are just the latest chap- Nancy Neal
    ter in a longstanding, international partnership between Goddard Space Flight Center
    NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA). ESA Office of Public Affairs
    built Hubble’s first two sets of solar arrays. For the (301) 286-0039
    newest pair, ESA designed, developed and tested the
    Solar Array Drive Mechanisms, which maneuver the
    arrays to keep them constantly pointed at the Sun.

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