Satellites having autonomously deployable solar arrays
AssigneeThe Boeing Company
InventorsGary E. Lemke, Chris J. Wasson, John P. Mills, Cecilia G. Cantu
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Abstract
Satellites having autonomously deployable solar arrays are disclosed. A disclosed example satellite includes a solar array, a sensor to detect that the satellite has exited a launch vehicle, a processor to enable ignition of squibs of a squib array based on the satellite exiting the launch vehicle, and a squib controller to control the ignition of the squibs based on a firing sequence of the squibs, where the squib controller is to vary the firing sequence to autonomously deploy the solar array.
Claims27
A satellite comprising:
- a solar array;
- a sensor to detect that the satellite has exited a launch vehicle;
- a processor to enable ignition of squibs of a squib array based on the satellite exiting the launch vehicle;
- a squib controller to control the ignition of the squibs based on a firing sequence of the squibs, the squib controller to autonomously deploy the solar array;
- and
- a squib firing sequence analyzer to adapt the firing sequence during execution of the firing sequence, wherein adapting the firing sequence includes changing an order in which ones of the squibs in the firing sequence are ignited based on a degree to which the solar array is unfolded.
A method of autonomously deploying a solar array of a satellite, the method comprising:
- determining, via a sensor, that the satellite has exited a launch vehicle;
- upon determining that the satellite has exited the launch vehicle, igniting squibs of a squib array based on a firing sequence of the squibs;
- and
- adapting, via instructions executed by a processor, the firing sequence of the squibs during execution of the firing sequence, wherein the adapting of the firing sequence includes changing an order in which ones of the squibs in the firing sequence are ignited based on a degree to which the solar array is unfolded.
A tangible machine readable medium comprising instructions, which when executed, cause a processor of a satellite to at least:
- determine that the satellite has exited a launch vehicle based on sensor data;
- and
- upon determination that the satellite has exited the launch vehicle, adapt a firing sequence of squibs of a squib array during execution of the firing sequence to autonomously deploy a solar array of the satellite, wherein the firing sequence is adapted by changing an order in which ones of the squibs in the firing sequence are ignited based on a degree to which the solar array is unfolded.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.