Historical Photo of the Month - January 2005

Table Mountain Solar Panel Tests
Photograph Number 342-2546A

In June 1960 JPL began testing spacecraft solar panels at Table Mountain, near Wrightwood, California. The site was at first a "gypsy caravan" of testing equipment brought from the Laboratory and set up on the ground. By May 1961, when this photo was taken, it had grown to include a wooden platform and trailer. Jerry Person, Wally Conover and Don Ritchie of the Spacecraft Secondary Power Section are shown with a solar panel from the Ranger 1-6 spacecraft. Collimating tubes behind them were used to test a single solar cell mounted at the bottom of the tube, with a pyrheliometer to measure solar radiation.

In 1926, the Smithsonian Institution had established a solar observatory at Table Mountain. JPL acquired the U.S. Forestry Service lease permit in 1962, purchased the Smithsonian buildings, and added a 16-inch telescope facility. The clear sky, remote location, and 7500 foot elevation made the site ideal for both solar testing and astronomical observation. Spacecraft solar panels are no longer a new technology to be tested at Table Mountain, but the facility has expanded to include several telescopes and research facilities for a variety of projects, instruments, and experiments.

For more information about Table Mountain, or information about the history of JPL, contact the JPL Archives.

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