ratio and absolute power requirement is shown in the figure below. Continuous growth in power requirements has occurred over the past 20 years. It is apparent that there is a discontinuity between the power requirements of COLUMBUS - more than 15 kilowatts - and those of all other past and present programs. This makes simple extrapolation from experiences with smaller systems to COLUMUBUS impossible. Many array system requirements have always been important, such as strength and stiffness, dynamic response, and minimum power to mass ratio. Over the years, changes have occurred in several areas. For example, the holddown configuration for modern lightweight rigid panel arrays (EURECA, IMARSAT 2 AND EUTELSAT 2) has become more varied, allowing four to six holddown points in the panel area not limited to edge positions. Stowage volume requirements have always been critical, but due to the evolution of launch vehicles (SHUTTLE, ARIANE 4) requirements can change substantially. New requirements for LEO missions have been introduced, primarily retractability and multiple launch-landing cycles. These are important requirements for EURECA, SPACE TELESCOPE and COLUMBUS. Other requirements changes are resulting from the new ORU and ASE approaches being applied to the COLUMBUS program.
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