Watch (and hear) the historic moment when solar arrays deployed on Dragon’s first cargo delivery flight to the ISS, in 2012
VIDEO 4 min. 25 sec. May 22, 2012: Typical space-technology tense moment: Would the solar arrays, designed from scratch by SpaceX, successfully deploy on the first cargo delivery flight to the International Space Station? Wait until you hear the observers’ reaction.
Solar Arrays Installed on SpaceX Dragon Spacecraft
[2012] For its first mission to the International Space Station, SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft will use deployable solar arrays as its primary power source for running sensors, driving heating and cooling systems, and communicating with SpaceX’s Mission Control Center and the Space Station. Dragon’s solar arrays generate up to 5,000 watts of power — enough to power over 80 standard light bulbs.
The solar arrays, shielded by protective covers during launch, deploy just minutes after Dragon separates from the Falcon 9 second stage, as it heads towards its rendezvous with the Space Station. While many commercial satellites and NASA missions such as the Hubble Space telescope use solar arrays, Dragon will be the first commercial American transport vehicle to do so.
Past American spacecraft like Mercury, Gemini, Apollo and Shuttle used fuel cells or battery packs. Fuel cells are limited by the amount of chemical reactants (typically oxygen and hydrogen) that the vehicle can carry. Batteries alone are limiting due to their mass and the amount of power they can carry.
To see more pictures of the Dragon’s solar arrays, visit the source article.
To see a VIDEO of the Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon cargo capsule in action, docking at the International Space Station, visit the next page.
