Dawn conducts a solar array test and updates software
Thu Jul 31, 2008 at 23:59 UTC
Dawn completed another month of thrusting, as it passed outside the orbit of Mars. It stopped thrusting for two days this month to perform other activities.
Controllers conducted a test on July 21 of a method to determine how much power the solar arrays could produce (the spacecraft consumes less than the arrays generate while still this close to the Sun). The test did not provide the full set of calibration data that was wanted, but it yielded enough information to guide engineers to minor modifications of the design for the backup calibration opportunity.
On July 22, operators installed an update to software in one of the auxiliary computers to further harden it against the affects of space radiation.
