NASA Conducts Solar Array Testing on Interstellar Mapping Spacecraft
Technicians at the Astrotech Space Operations Facility near NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida install the two-panel solar array on Thursday, July 17, 2025, that will help power the agency’s IMAP (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe) observatory on its upcoming journey one million miles away from Earth. NASA/Kim Shiflett Technicians installed a key piece of hardware that will help power NASA’s IMAP (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe) observatory on its upcoming journey one million miles away from Earth. The launch processing team integrated and tested the two-panel solar array for the spacecraft on day/date at the Astrotech Space Operations Facility near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The IMAP spacecraft and its 10 science instruments will help researchers understand how the solar wind interacts with the interstellar medium and how energetic particles are accelerated in space. The mission plans to provide near real-time information about the solar wind to improve advanced...