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Late last week the MESSENGER team began integrating
heaters and thermostats on the spacecraft.
Why put heaters on a spacecraft that will
fly so close to the Sun? Since MESSENGER's ceramic-material sunshade
is designed to block the Sun's heat and radiation, the spacecraft
will need several temperature sensors and heaters to keep its
electronics at safe temperatures - without them, those electronics
could face "shade" temperatures as low as -100°C
(-212°F). Software-controlled heaters are attached to MESSENGER's
main propellant tanks as a way to regulate the spacecraft's overall
temperature.
Last updated: June 27,
2003
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