Solar Array Mechanical Simulator

The Europa Clipper Solar Array Mechanical Simulator (SAMS) is shown installed on the spacecraft’s propulsion module as a part of a weeklong effort at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, to check that the solar array struts were correctly fabricated and installed onto the spacecraft structure. SAMS is a mass and geometry simulator for a single solar array wing that will be used as a part of spacecraft structural testing.