Assembly and Construction The construction and assembly is a critical element of the designs considered in this section. As indicated previously, the primary assumption is that the current and mid-term state of the art regarding robotic assembly is such that erectable structures are more desirable. The assembly sequence is briefly outlined as follows. For the simple planar array, a single STS flight is assumed. The construction would occur in the STS cargo bay. For the prismatic pre-commercial demonstrator, the following is assumed. An Energia is launched from the Baikonur launch site and carries 701 of cargo into a 350 km, 28.5° orbit. Shortly thereafter, a Shuttle is launched into the same orbit and performs the required proximity operations. The assembly is then completed in LEO. This is then followed by a verification and operation period before the transfer into the operational high equatorial orbit.
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