Engineering topics
Wallace, Matthew T.
Publications and source records attributed to Wallace, Matthew T..
Assemby, test, and launch operations for the Mars Exploration Rovers
In January of 2004, NASA's twin Mars rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, successfully landed on opposite sides of the Red Planet after a seven month Earth to Mars cruise period. Both vehicles have operated well beyond their 90 day primary mission design life requirements. The Assembly, Test, and Launch Operations (ATLO) program for these missions presented unique technical and schedule challenges to the team at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). Among these challenges were a highly compressed schedule and late deliveries leading to extended double shift staffing, dual spacecraft operations requiring test program diversification and resource arbitration, multiple atypical test configurations for airbag/rocket landings and surface mobility testing, and verification of an exceptionally large number of separations, deployments, and mechanisms. This paper discusses the flight system test philosophies and approach, and presents lessons learned.
Teaming and Innovation to Create a Low Cost Power Subsystem for the Mars Microrover
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Scaling Nominal Solar Cell Impedances for Array Design
A methodology for estimating the AC impedance of solar arrays and in particular the Mars Pathfinder (MPF) cruise and lander solar arrays is presented.
(abstract) Scaling Nominal Solar Cell Impedances for Array Design
This paper discusses a task the objective of which is to characterize solar cell array AC impedance and develop scaling rules for impedance characterization of large arrays by testing single solar cells and small arrays. This effort is aimed at formulating a methodology for estimating the AC impedance of the Mars Pathfinder (MPF) cruise and lander solar arrays based upon testing single cells and small solar cell arrays and to create a basis for design of a single shunt limiter for MPF power control of flight solar arrays having very different inpedances.