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#40
by
ugordan
on 08 Mar, 2011 21:38
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Treat her nice, Jim. Juno is the queen of the gods, after all.
And by the looks of things, the only thing to go to Jupiter for a long time to come...
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#41
by
Jim
on 25 Mar, 2011 15:17
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The solar arrays are at Astrotech. KSC multimedia has more pics.
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#42
by
Robotbeat
on 25 Mar, 2011 15:37
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#43
by
Jim
on 25 Mar, 2011 15:39
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just know 18kw at 1 AU and 400w at Jupiter
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#44
by
dsmillman
on 25 Mar, 2011 16:08
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just know 18kw at 1 AU and 400w at Jupiter
So the power produced by these solar arrays are in the same ballpark as the ISS solar arrays. We now know why RTG's are preferred for the outer planets.
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#45
by
Robotbeat
on 25 Mar, 2011 16:45
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just know 18kw at 1 AU and 400w at Jupiter
Thanks.
This is worse than the attenuation of distance, at least for the semi-major axis (18000/5.2^2=665W), worse than the for the aphelion (18000/5.485^2=~600W).
So, does this 400W take into account degradation of the solar panels and eclipsing (and mission margin), as well?
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#46
by
ugordan
on 25 Mar, 2011 17:01
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How does their efficiency vary with temperature?
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#47
by
Robotbeat
on 25 Mar, 2011 17:09
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How does their efficiency vary with temperature?
Yes, I forgot to ask about the reduction in efficiency with the reduction of incoming light. That is a problem with some solar cells (though some are better at low light levels than others).
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#48
by
Jim
on 25 Mar, 2011 19:14
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those were just numbers thrown around for PR purposes.
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#49
by
Chris Bergin
on 25 Mar, 2011 19:19
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I'll have a think over the weekend, but this mission, and MSL - and probably others - deserve more than just threads in the US launcher section.
Will try and create some new section for missions, allowing several specific threads and so on.
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#50
by
Robotbeat
on 25 Mar, 2011 19:40
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#51
by
robertross
on 25 Mar, 2011 22:29
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#52
by
Jim
on 26 Mar, 2011 12:00
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This is what happens when you put current into solar cells
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#53
by
EE Scott
on 26 Mar, 2011 12:25
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That is so cool. Great close up shot!
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#54
by
charlieb
on 26 Mar, 2011 12:39
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Current going into solar cells... That's probably not a very good thing...
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#55
by
ugordan
on 26 Mar, 2011 12:45
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Current going into solar cells... That's probably not a very good thing...
Why? If I'm interpreting Jim's image correctly, the cells produce light when current is put into them. Basically the reverse of their light->electricity mechanism. They act as LEDs.
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#56
by
Jim
on 26 Mar, 2011 12:52
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It was part of the post shipment checkout.
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#57
by
robertross
on 26 Mar, 2011 13:02
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It was part of the post shipment checkout.
Sweet! Thanks for the image Jim.
So that's a procedural step to ensure each cell is still functioning correctly?
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#58
by
Robotbeat
on 26 Mar, 2011 15:12
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That is really cool. Thanks, Jim.
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#59
by
PahTo
on 26 Mar, 2011 15:17
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Indeed, thanks for the "inside look" and info, Jim (and TF, jacqmans, Blackstar and everyone).
Chris: glad to know there'll be supporting threads and articles for the upcoming missions.
