Sierra Space, a leading commercial space company and defense tech prime that is building a platform in space to benefit and protect life on Earth, announced a technology center expansion aimed at scaling up the production and delivery of the company’s groundbreaking Surface Mount Technology (SMT) solar power systems, including production for national defense applications.
Earlier this month, Sierra Space announced a new operation dedicated to supporting the national security space as a prime contractor — Sierra Space Defense — as well as unveiled their “Victory Works” manufacturing facility for defense satellites.
Sierra Space’s Power Station is a brand-new production facility that will house world-class manufacturing capabilities to produce Surface Mount Technology (SMT) defense-hardened solar arrays, which provide best-in-class power density, resiliency, and production lead times. Located in Broomfield, Colorado, the Power Station spans approximately 70,000 square feet, including office space. See photos here.
In addition to the SMT production lines, the $45 million facility also houses new tooling and an integrated test center that includes thermal vacuum/thermal air chambers and a dynamics lab for vibration and pyroshock testing. These solar arrays have diverse applications, including for use on satellites.
“Sierra Space is re-industrializing the space-defense technology sector,” said Sierra Space Vice President Erik Daehler. “We have the ability to build a solar panel a day, and a wing a week. We plan to deliver 40 satellite wings in the first phase of production and are scaling up to 100 satellite wings per year by our full rate of production. Additionally, because of our unique architecture, our solar arrays are more resilient. The Power Station is a proof point in our dedication to support national security.”
With a multikilowatt solar production capacity, Sierra Space is poised to disrupt the space industry with its innovative approach to high-volume, quick-turn automation and advancements in solar array production. The new factory will also create employment opportunities. Currently, over 100 Sierra Space team members are working onsite at the Power Station.
Solar power is critical for space missions as it provides a reliable, renewable energy source to support long-duration operations in orbit and beyond. Sierra Space offers low-cost, highly scalable power systems with ranges from 10 watts to 10 kilowatts, and its end-to-end electric power solutions consist of fully assembled and tested solar arrays, solar array drives, slip rings, hinges, hold-down mechanisms, and motor control electronics.
“Using state-of-the-art tools and integration equipment, our engineering and production teams have the expertise and experience to define, analyze, build, and test complete solar array systems,” said Brian Anthony, Vice President of Spacecraft Systems at Sierra Space. “Our scalable power systems can be tailored to fit a wide variety of mission options with reduced cycle time and risk by incorporating existing qualified and flight-proven designs. With this new production facility coming online, Sierra Space is ready to meet the needs of the rapidly emerging satellite constellation market and deliver space power at lightning speed.”
Sierra Space has pioneered SMT solar cells attached to Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs) that are assembled using standard commercial electronics pick-and-place technology. These high-efficiency multi-junction MWT (Metallized Wrap Through) “micro-cells” are robotically placed onto engineered printed circuit boards, enabling automated production, higher power densities, and shorter lead times for deployable solar arrays. This development addresses the needs of both small- and large-scale deployable missions while reducing lead times for Sierra Space customers and offering significant system advantages over conventional solar panels and arrays.
In celebrating 35 years of supplying high-end, engineered subsystems and components for the space industry, Sierra Space continues to make critical progress that ensures the efficient and cost-effective utilization of high-density power in its missions.
Click here to learn more about the Wide Range of Solar Array Drive Mechanisms
