Arrays

By the time Mariner 2 approached Venus, one of its solar arrays had failed and the vehicle came dangerously close to overheating, but it remained healthy enough to complete its scientific mission.

At each approach to the Sun, the solar arrays retract behind the heat shield’s shadow, leaving only a small segment exposed to the Sun’s intense rays.

After ensuring that the telescope’s two solar arrays and antennas had properly deployed, he released it to fly free.

The batteries store energy collected by the station's solar panel arrays.

We learned about arrays in Comp Sci today.

NASA says the current solar arrays are functioning well but were designed for a 15-year service life and are in their 21st year of service. The new solar arrays will be positioned in front of six of the current arrays, increasing the station’s total available power from 160 kilowatts to a maximum of 215 kilowatts.

In a recent real-world test of the technique, scientists used arrays of laser sensors to exchange data with a NASA spacecraft orbiting the moon at a rate six times faster than the best radio communications available. Researchers say the laser-based system weighs half as much as comparable radio devices and uses 25 percent less power.