Material Considerations in the STEREO Solar Array Design

Paper number

IAC-06-C2.P.1.07

Author

Prof. Jennifer Tanzman, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, United States

Year

2006

Abstract

STEREO (Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory) is the third mission in NASA’s Solar Terrestrial Probes program, and is scheduled to launch in July 2006, aboard a single Delta II 7925 launch vehicle. The STEREO program is managed by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC).  Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab (APL) is responsible for the STEREO spacecraft design and fabrication as well as observatory integration, testing, and mission operations.  This two-year mission will employ two nearly identical space-based observatories - one ahead of Earth in its orbit, the other trailing behind - to provide the first-ever stereoscopic measurements to study the Sun and the nature of its coronal mass ejections, or CMEs. STEREO's scientific objectives are to understand the causes and mechanisms of coronal mass ejection (CME) initiation, characterize the propagation of CMEs through the heliosphere, discover the mechanisms and sites of energetic particle acceleration in the low corona and the interplanetary medium, and improve the determination of the structure of the ambient solar wind.  
	The STEREO configuration is a dual-stacked configuration, tightly packaged with four instrument suites, two sets of composite solar arrays and a composite high gain antenna dish.  The four instrument suites are SECCHI, IMPACT, PLASTIC, and SWAVES, coming from the Naval Research Laboratory, the University of California-Berkeley, the University of New Hampshire, and the University of Minnesota.  These instrument suites are delivered to APL through the GSFC Program Office.  
The STEREO stacked observatory utilizes four sets of solar arrays, each of which experiences a two stage deployment on orbit.  This poster presentation illustrates material considerations in the solar array subsystem design.  It first focuses on the solar array substrate, considering material coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) mismatch concerns when choosing a substrate to which to adhere the solar cells, initial modeling and testing of the substrates, and correlation of the model to the test results with respect to material behavior.  It then focuses on material considerations in the solar array hinge design, which was driven not just by function, but by a host of different material considerations, ranging from mass savings to fabrication time and material cost.  

Abstract document

IAC-06-C2.P.1.07.pdf

Manuscript document

IAC-06-C2.P.1.07.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).

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