News

16 June 2009

 

Emcore awarded $5m PV contract for NASA’s Global Precipitation Measurement spacecraft

Emcore Corp of Albuquerque, NM, USA, which manufactures components and subsystems for the broadband, fiber-optic, and solar power markets, has been awarded a $5m contract to manufacture, test, and deliver solar panels for NASA's Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) spacecraft, to be launched summer 2013. The contract will be managed by MEI Technologies Inc, a prime contractor for electrical systems engineering services at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC).

The GPM mission is one of the satellite-based earth science missions studying global precipitation, including rain, snow, and ice. The spacecraft's solar arrays will be powered by Emcore's latest-generation class ZTJ multi-junction solar cells, which can provide power to interplanetary spacecrafts and earth orbiting satellites with a beginning-of-life (BOL) conversion efficiency of 30% and the option of a patented, onboard monolithic bypass diode.

“This award reaffirms Emcore's position as the leading solar panel supplier for space missions,” says the firm’s chief operating officer Christopher Larocca. Emcore claims to be the world’s largest manufacturer of highly efficient radiation-hard solar cells for space power applications.

See related item:

Emcore secures long-term contract to supply Space Systems Loral with III-Vs-based multi-junction solar cells

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Visit: www.emcore.com