SDO Solar Array and High Gain Antenna Test Deploy

Goddard engineers attached the solar array panels and high gain antennas to the Solar Dynamics Observatory. During launch the arrays and antennas are tucked in against the spacecraft and must be opened up for use on orbit. This video show the engineers testing that deployment. The arrays and antennas are held against the spacecraft by explosive bolts that are exploded to allow them to open. The same type of explosives will deploy the solar arrays in space. The solar arrays will collect energy from the Sun to power the spacecraft. SDO will collect so much data on the sun that it could not be stored on the spacecraft and therefore must be sent to the ground quickly. The high gain antennas will transmit 1.5 terabytes of data each day to a ground station at White Sands, NM. That's like watching 380 movies each day!