Author: Alex Lubkin
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Bridgestone World Solar Challenge Recap
Five days and four nights after leaving Darwin, Arctan and the Stanford Solar Car Project team arrived in Adelaide, South Australia. We came in a strong sixth place finish, one of the seven top teams to complete the race in five days. The team ran a tight ship the entire race, not stopping once except for…
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World Solar Challenge: Day Two
The second race day began at Dunmarra, the second control stop of the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge. The team was in seventh place, behind other top competitors. After serving out the rest of the control stop time in the morning, we were off South. Arctan handled the next part of the course well, which is…
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Week Six Update: Race Preparations and Scrutineering
The team arrived in Darwin, Northern Territory Sunday night, glad to have a home to call our own for the week. The next day, everyone was busy preparing Arctan for scrutineering. On Tuesday morning, we woke up at 8:30 am for our static scrutineering session. Static scrutineering involves a range of checks by WSC officials,…
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Week Five Update: Final Testing
The outback is a harsh environment with chip-sealed roads that destroy tires and wheel alignment, road trains that kick up rocks and dust, and gravel turn-outs that cause body damage. After several days of testing and the mock race, it was time for some repairs. The team went north to Alice Springs, where we worked for a…
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Week Four: South Australia Mock Race
The mock race was off to a start at 8:00am in our fourth week, matching the starting time of the World Solar Challenge. We began in Coober Pedy, the ‘Opal Mining Capital of the World’, and set off north towards Marla, essentially a gas station on the side of the Stuart Highway. There we stopped for 30 minutes…
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Australia Week Two Update
The Stanford Solar Car Project WSC 2015 Race Crew began the week with a busy Monday, waking up earlier than usual to complete the trailer and prepare the car for its first drive in Australia. The completed Arctan trailer. Naomi Misiajlo, a World Solar Challenge Official, directed the team convoy to Adelaide’s Victoria Park Race…
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First Week in Australia
Both the team and Arctan have arrived in Adelaide! Thanks to Cathay Pacific for safely shipping Arctan. The car arrived one day ahead of schedule in the awesome workshop we are fortunate to call home for the week. Solitaire Automotive Group has generously provided us with the space; thank you to the whole crew for being…
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Arctan Array
The array for the Stanford Solar Car Project’s 2015 World Solar Challenge Vehicle, Arctan, incorporates some of the most advanced photovoltaic and encapsulation technologies. The primary component is SunPower Maxeon® cells. These back contact cells increase functional area and avoid shading due to the metal paste from front contact soldering. Once the cells were aligned and…