Image courtesy of NASA
The Vanguard I satellite was and is remarkable in a number of ways: it’s the fifth publicly known launched satellite, the first to use solar power, and, as of this writing, the longest-lasting artificial satellite, at 53 years and counting.
NASA diagram, courtesy of Wikipedia Commons
Six solar cells powered a 5-milliwatt transmitter (a second transmitter was powered by a battery). The solar powered transmitter lasted for six years.
This post is part of an occasional series through which we hope to investigate the progress and promise of solar power. And its limitations. So we’re looking for data points, landmarks, so we can plot the vector of solar power over time. One of our first posts on Solar, “Staten Island Ferry – Sailing to the Future,” posted here, March 8, 2007, noted the 40 KW array on the Staten Island Ferry Terminal, at the base of Whitehall Street in New York City.
Promise and Progress of Solar Power