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A reliable battery system is
critical to the success of any solar-powered spacecraft. A temporary
"workhorse" battery currently supplies power to MESSENGER;
the actual flight battery is being assembled and will be installed
just before environmental testing. By using a temporary battery
now, the team makes sure the flight model is fresh and ready to
last through the mission.
The newly installed duct seen in the above image supplies cool
air to the temporary battery (hidden behind the spacecraft), keeping
it at a safe working temperature while the MESSENGER team tests
the spacecraft's onboard electrical systems. MESSENGER's flight
battery is 20-Ah (ampere hour) common-pressure-vessel nickel-hydrogen
type similar to that on the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft. It
consists of 22 individual cells tied together in pairs; it looks
like 11 side-by-side pairs of 1-liter soda bottles with rabbit-ear
contacts sticking out of the top.
Last updated: September
10, 2003
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