The Solar Array Photovoltaic Assembly for the ROSETTA Orbiter and Lander Spacecraft's

ROSETTA is the third cornerstone mission in ESA's Horizon 2000 scientific programs. It is a cometary mission representing a major advance with respect to previous programs. During the almost eleven year mission, the spacecraft will experience a very large variation of Sun distance, ranging from 0.9 AU at Mars swing-by to 5.25 AU before comet approach. The solar intensity will consequently vary by a factor of more than 30 from roughly 1700 W/m 2 at closest Sun distance to about 50 W/m 2 at maximum Sun distance, generating a challenging set of requirements for the solar generator. The orbiter is composed of two deployable wings of five panels each, with a total area of more than 60 m 2 : They represent one of the largest arrays developed for a scientific spacecraft. The ROSETTA Lander will be carried on-board the Orbiter and subsequently released on the Wirtanen comet's surface in 2011. The main scientific objectives of the mission are the analysis of comet's nucleus structure and the in-situ investigation of comet material. This paper describes the ROSETTA solar array photovoltaic assemblies (PVA's) design and layout, focusing on their special features.