Emcore Nabs $10M Solar Panel Contract from NASA

Emcore Corp. received a $10 million contract from NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) in Greenbelt, Md., to manufacture, test and deliver solar panels for the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission.

The company expects to deliver a total of 32 solar panels using its ZTJ solar cells to power four separate MMS spacecraft. The solar cell features a sunlight-to-electricity conversion efficiency near 30 percent, making it one of the highest performance space qualified multi-junction solar cells on the market, said the company.

Production of the panels will take place at the company’s Albuquerque facility.

“This NASA contract is a significant award for Emcore,” said Christopher Larocca, chief operating officer of Emcore. “Under a previous contract, we successfully delivered solar panels for NASA GSFC’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter mission, which is currently powering the spacecraft orbiting the moon. Winning this contract accelerates Emcore’s efforts to be the premier supplier of solar panels for demanding spacecraft power systems.”

Emcore provides compound semiconductor-based components and subsystems for the fiber optic and solar power markets.

For more information, visit: www.emcore.com