ARA MK4 Solar Array Development

W.n. Christiansen and the Development of the Solar Grating Array

By 1950 the C.S.I.R.O’s Division of Radiophysics was emerging as a leader in solar radio astronomy. Early observations at radio frequencies were hampered by a lack of angular resolution. In seeking a method to produce regular high-resolution observations W.N. Christiansen devised the solar grating array. This unique instrument was constructed on the banks of the Potts Hill water supply reservoi...

Solar Position Measurement System Utilizing Solar Cell Array

This paper presents a novel approach for estimating the position of the sun by measuring the output voltage signals of two solar cell arrays orientated orthogonally to one another. Each array comprises a symmetrical arrangement of six cells inclined at angles of either 15°, 45° or 75° to the horizontal, respectively. As the position of the sun varies over the course of the day, a change is indu...

Mars Rover Antenna for Solar-Array Integration

A low-gain crossed-slot microstrip patch antenna integrated with the solar-array panel has been successfully developed for the Mars rover application at the frequency of 400 MHz. It achieved a very low mass of 0.5 kg and occupied very small real estate (6.5 percent) of the solar panel. The electrical and mechanical characteristics of several other omni-directional low-gain antennas also are dis...

Lightweight Flexible Solar Array Validation Report

Review of the Solar Array Telescopes

For several years the only experiments sensitive to astrophysical gamma rays with energies beyond the reach of EGRET but below that of the Cherenkov imaging telescopes have been the ”solar tower” detectors. They use > 2000 m mirror areas to sample the Cherenkov wavefront generated by < 100 GeV gamma rays, obtaining Crab sensitivities of more than 6σ in one ON-source hour. I will review the hist...