[Sounds of satellite construction clean room]
Nastasoiu: Our team right now is getting ready to deploy the solar array.
We had to remove it from the spacecraft to get through thermal vacuum.
And now we're doing the final flight installation.
It's gonna stay on from here on out until we launch.
Jordan: That's significant because it's really the last major activity that we're doing,
the last powered test that we're doing on JPSS-2
before we put it in the shipping container and send it to the launch site.
Capehart: We've deployed the array several times on the JPSS-2 spacecraft
so that's not novel, but what's unique here is this is a milestone it's,
it's a culmination of really seven years of work on this program.
And establishes that we're ready for launch.
Nastasoiu: So we need to do one last deployment to make sure that it functions properly
properly after getting through all of the tough environmental testing and that it's ready to go.
Our solar array is like one arm sticking out the side of the satellite.
It has five panels. I think 2000 cells.
They fold up like an accordion and they need to be held in place to make sure
place to make sure they don't accidentally release during all of the shaking that happens on the launch vehicle.
Scott: So what we did was powered up the satellite and actually commanded the array to be deployed.
So the actual firing of the hold and release mechanisms, the array folds out naturally -- it's spring loaded.
They were monitoring, checking and inspecting to make sure that each of the panels folded out and locked in place.
The next time this will happen will be in space.
Capehart: a test like today where we do the solar array deployment, that's fun. That's fun to see that work.
Seeing this deployment on the ground helps visualize what will be going on in space.
This is just an inkling of things to come.