space station and other programs. The SiO2 approach is currently baselined for both the Space Station Freedom and the ISF programs. It can be seen from this discussion that the technology we now are applying for space station was the result not of a single effort, but of a multi-NASA center, multicontractor effort over a period of many years—all predicated on a set of technology development goals set in the early 1970s and pursued diligently since that time. Current Space Station Freedom Design The space station solar array consists of eight solar array wings which support a 75 Kw bus with a 187.2 Kw power output at the four-year design point. The solar array wing, shown in Fig. 8, is composed of two split blankets with a central mast—similar in concept to the Power Module array wing previously discussed. Each blanket is approximately 4.7 X 32.6 metres—virtually identical to the SAFE flight unit which was 4.3 X 32 metres. The wing is stowed for ease of Shuttle packaging as shown in Fig. 8. This is also an approach with a previous design heritage from the MSFC Power Module Solar Array studies. The array is extended by a 0.8 metre diameter coilable longeron mast, giving the assembly adequate stiffness to provide a 0.1 Hz minimum deployed natural frequency—considerably higher than the 0.04 Hz frequency demonstrated on SAFE.
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