Solestial, the solar energy company for space, announced that it has been selected by SpaceWERX for a Direct-to-Phase II contract in the amount of $1.2 million dollars to develop a novel, fast to manufacture, multiorbital solar array wing concept for small satellites. The award enables Solestial to optimize its low-mass, radiation-hardened silicon solar cells and solar power modules for fast integration and assembly; develop novel module electrical interconnectors; and build and test a complete solar array wing.
The project will culminate in a two-week production sprint to manufacture 1 kilowatt of solar cells and modules, followed by a two-week solar array assembly and integration run with the goal of demonstrating that a complete solar array wing can be manufactured in only one month's time.
The award addresses the most pressing challenges in the Department of the Air Force (DAF). DAF began offering the Open Topic SBIR/STTR program in 2018 which expanded the range of innovations the DAF funded and is aligned with one of Solestial's goals to create and provide innovative capabilities that support the national defense of the United States of America.
"This is a meaningful award for us that will result in critical research and development benefiting the U.S. Space Force," said Margo de Naray, Solestial CEO. "Long manufacturing lead times have plagued the incumbent solar technology for space. Through our use of affordable, accessible silicon and automated manufacturing of solar cells and solar power modules, Solestial is uniquely positioned to solve this critical bottleneck and support mission readiness."
To date, Solestial has been awarded more than $7 million dollars in Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contracts from the U.S. Space Force, U.S. Air Force, Air Force Research Laboratory, NASA, and the National Science Foundation.
The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Air Force, the Department of Defense, or the U.S. government.
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