Re: Guidelines - credit to SpaceX...
Shedding the panels should result in fuel savings as well, right?
In Kerbal Space Program people have done some tests which suggest that for optimum efficiency, you should shed them somewhere around 20km. Obviously it's not an accurate model of the real atmosphere but presumably the principle holds.
The down side is that if you shed your panels while still thrusting and still in atmosphere, you increase the risk of them impacting the rest of your space craft. Reasonably enough, NASA are a bit wary of items falling off and impacting, oh for example, a thermal protection tile.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
