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Are solar array almost like a film? I thought they sort of folded but in the animation they look like they can almost roll them up (I know it's just an animatio
by aidos 12y ago
Are solar array almost like a film? I thought they sort of folded but in the animation they look like they can almost roll them up (I know it's just an animation, but it left me wondering).
- adventured 12y agoHere's a great look at one set, that was damaged: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/25/STS120SolarPanel.jpg http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/25/STS120Sol...
- sitharus 12y agoThey are rigid solar panels mounted on Kapton tape. There's a fan-fold mechanism to store them for transport - exactly like old tractor-feed printer paper. They can fold them back up, and they are an in-space replaceable component but there's no reason to ever do that. It was done once to move the P6 truss from a temporary position on top of the station to the end of the wing, but this resulted in (repairable) damage to the solar array. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bTcodL0awg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bTcodL0awg is a good view of the retraction.