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Solar Array Deployment Tests

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APL STEREO team members conduct a solar array deployment test on STEREO's "B" observatory (the one that will be placed "behind" Earth in its orbit around the sun). When performing deployment tests, technicians use a crane to take the weight off the hinges connecting, in this case, the solar panel to the spacecraft. The hinges - designed for use in a weightless space environment - aren't designed to support the weight of a fully opened solar panel while on Earth since the panel weighs more due to Earth's gravity.

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory