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copied from Solar panels on spacecraft
Spacecraft that have used solar power
editTo date, solar power, other than for propulsion, has been practical for spacecraft operating no farther from the Sun than the orbit of Jupiter. For example, Juno, Magellan, Mars Global Surveyor, and Mars Observer used solar power as does the Earth-orbiting, Hubble Space Telescope. The Rosetta space probe, launched 2 March 2004, used its 64 square metres (690 sq ft) of solar panels[1] as far as the orbit of Jupiter (5.25 AU); previously the furthest use was the Stardust spacecraft at 2 AU. Solar power for propulsion was also used on the European lunar mission SMART-1 with a Hall effect thruster.
The Juno mission, launched in 2011, is the first mission to Jupiter (arrived at Jupiter on July 4, 2016) to use solar panels instead of the traditional RTGs that are used by previous outer solar system missions, making it the furthest spacecraft to use solar panels to date.[2][3] It has 72 square metres (780 sq ft) of panels.[4]
Another spacecraft of interest is Dawn which went into orbit around 4 Vesta in 2011. It used ion thrusters to get to Ceres.
The potential for solar powered spacecraft beyond Jupiter has been studied.[5]
The International Space Station also uses solar arrays to power everything on the station. The 262,400 solar cells cover around 27,000 square feet of space. There are four sets of solar arrays that power the station and the fourth set of arrays were installed in March 2009. 84 to 120 kilowatts of electricity can be generated from these solar arrays. [6]
- ^ "Rosetta's frequently asked questions". ESA. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
- ^ Juno mission page at NASA's New Frontiers Web Site Archived 2007-02-03 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2007-08-31.
- ^ Jet Propulsion Laboratory: NASA's Juno Spacecraft Breaks Solar Power Distance Record. January 13, 2016. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
- ^ Mitrica, Dragos (18 January 2016). "NASA's solar-powered Juno shuttle breaks record distance at 793 million km from the Sun". ZME Science. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
- ^ Scott W. Benson – Solar Power for Outer Planets Study (2007) – NASA Glenn Research Center
- ^ Garcia, Mark (2017-07-31). "About the Space Station Solar Arrays". NASA. Retrieved 2017-12-06.