Dark Forward Electrical Testing of the Mir Cooperative Solar Array

Abstract

During July 11 to 13, 1995, a team from the NASA Lewis Research Center performed dark forward electrical testing on the Mir Cooperative Solar Array (MCSA) flight unit in the Space Station Processing Facility at the NASA Kennedy Space Center. The MCSA was jointly designed and built by the United States and Russia to supply approximately 6 kW of electricity to the Russian Mir space station. The primary objective of testing was to assess the overall electrical performance of the flight array after handling and shipment from Russia to NASA Kennedy. This objective was achieved without the high cost and difficulties of deploying and illuminating the MCSA as is usually done with large-area solar arrays. The data obtained provided U.S. and Russian program managers with a high level of confidence in the MCSA electrical performance prior to the array's launch on shuttle mission STS-74 in November 1995 and its deployment on Mir in May 1996.