Back to the catalog
Spinoff story
New Solar Array Design Saves Space
A real-world story of NASA technology finding a life beyond the mission.
About this technology
Overview
NASA plans to use solar electric propulsion to send astronauts to Mars, but the technology will require huge solar arrays that take up precious space in a rocket fairing. So a NASA team invented the Compact Telescoping Array concept, which can reduce a stowed solar array’s volume by a third. Now a Northrop Grumman facility in Goleta, California, is producing arrays based on NASA’s design.