Mar 7, 2022 09:31 PM
https://www.slashgear.com/790530/nasas-p...irst-time/
INTRO: NASA is getting ready to launch a spacecraft to visit a one of a kind target: the famous Psyche, a metal asteroid 140 miles across which has been claimed to be worth quintillions of dollars. NASA isn't visiting it for the money, though – the agency hopes to learn more about the early solar system and how this strange chunk of mostly metal came to be orbiting around our sun.
[...] The spacecraft's massive solar arrays will harness energy from the sun to provide power for the craft as it travels on its lonely journey through space, which will take three and a half years. The twin arrays cover a massive area of 800 square feet, or 75 square meters, which are the largest which have ever been installed at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the location where robotic explorers like the Mars Perseverance rover are built.
"Seeing the spacecraft fully assembled for the first time is a huge accomplishment; there's a lot of pride," said Brian Bone, who leads assembly, test, and launch operations for the mission at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. "This is the true fun part. You're feeling it all come together. You feel the energy change and shift."
One problem with solar powered space travel is that the further you get from the sun, the less energy you have available to you. So these arrays can generate 21 kilowatts of energy near Earth, which could power several homes, but by the time they reach their destination they'll only produce around 2 kilowatts. So engineers had to design the arrays accordingly... (MORE - missing details)
https://youtu.be/fh6DlEFjR1M
https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/fh6DlEFjR1M
INTRO: NASA is getting ready to launch a spacecraft to visit a one of a kind target: the famous Psyche, a metal asteroid 140 miles across which has been claimed to be worth quintillions of dollars. NASA isn't visiting it for the money, though – the agency hopes to learn more about the early solar system and how this strange chunk of mostly metal came to be orbiting around our sun.
[...] The spacecraft's massive solar arrays will harness energy from the sun to provide power for the craft as it travels on its lonely journey through space, which will take three and a half years. The twin arrays cover a massive area of 800 square feet, or 75 square meters, which are the largest which have ever been installed at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the location where robotic explorers like the Mars Perseverance rover are built.
"Seeing the spacecraft fully assembled for the first time is a huge accomplishment; there's a lot of pride," said Brian Bone, who leads assembly, test, and launch operations for the mission at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. "This is the true fun part. You're feeling it all come together. You feel the energy change and shift."
One problem with solar powered space travel is that the further you get from the sun, the less energy you have available to you. So these arrays can generate 21 kilowatts of energy near Earth, which could power several homes, but by the time they reach their destination they'll only produce around 2 kilowatts. So engineers had to design the arrays accordingly... (MORE - missing details)
https://youtu.be/fh6DlEFjR1M