| 27 October 2000 |
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Today the HST Solar Array is undergoing a "bakeout" to prepare for the Disturbance Verification Test.
The purpose of the bakeout is to elevate the temperature in the LSS chamber in order to remove contaminants
that may be present in the Solar Array, support hardware or chamber. Potential contaminants include oils,
residues and/or plasticizers. This removal of contaminants also ensures the chamber is safe to continue with
the primary portion of the thermal test.
Bakeout is expected to be completed early this evening and tonight the solar simulation cycling will begin.
The purpose of the thermal cycling is to measure the mechanical disturbances caused by temperature changes
of the Solar Array in a realistic space environment. ESTEC's LSS chamber is the only known facility in the
world that can provide the background environment necessary for these measurements while also being large
enough to accommodate one of the Hubble Space Telescope's massive new Solar Array Wings. The test will run
continuously through the weekend and afterwards NASA engineers will have a preview of the Solar Array's
response to rapid changes in temperature caused by sunrise and sunset. Full analysis of the data will
occur in the weeks to follow at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
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