NRL's Forward Technology Solar Cell Experiment Flies as Part of MISSE-5 Aboard Space Shuttle Discovery Mission

摘要

The Naval Research Laboratory led the scientific team that designed, built, and launched the 5th Materials on the International Space Station Experiment (MISSE-5). The team consisted of NRL, NASA Glenn Research Center, Ohio Aerospace Institute, NASA Langley Research Center, U.S. Naval Academy, and the Air Force Space Test Program. MISSE-5 is a completely self-contained experiment system with its own power generation, storage, and communications systems. The primary MISSE-5 payload is the Forward Technology Solar Cell Experiment (FTSCE), which is currently functioning on-orbit. MISSE-5 was launched aboard the Shuttle return to flight mission (STS-114) on July 26, 2005. Astronaut Soichi Noguchi deployed MISSE-5 on the exterior of the International Space Station (ISS) during the spacewalk on August 3, 2005, just before Astronaut Steve Robinson performed the tile repair on the Shuttle Discovery. Figure 1 is a photograph of MISSE-5 deployed on the ISS. The experiment will remain in orbit for about one year, after which it will be returned to Earth for postflight testing and analysis.