- News
6 December 2011
ATK awards Emcore solar panel contract for Orbital’s cargo missions to ISS
Emcore Corp of Albuquerque, NM, USA, which makes compound semiconductor-based components and subsystems for the fiber-optic and solar power markets, has been awarded a solar panel manufacturing contract by aerospace, defense, and commercial products firm ATK of Arlington, VA, USA to utilize ZTJ triple-junction solar cells in the new lightweight and highly efficient ATK Ultraflex solar arrays. The solar panels will be used to power cargo delivery spacecraft for Orbital Sciences Corp’s Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) missions to the International Space Station (ISS).
Under contract with NASA, Orbital will provide cargo logistics support services to the ISS, beginning in 2012. Emcore’s solar panels will be assembled into deployable solar arrays by ATK’s Solar Arrays and Deployables business in Goleta, CA. The arrays will then be delivered to Orbital Sciences Corp for integration into its Cygnus space vehicles.
“Coupling Emcore's heritage of providing highly efficient and reliable photovoltaics with ATK's lightweight Ultraflex solar array design will result in a winning solution to produce the most advanced and reliable power to ensure Orbital’s Cygnus spacecraft is the long-term solution for the automated transport of goods to the International Space Station for many years to come,” reckons Dave Messner, general manager of ATK’s Solar Arrays and Deployables business.
“Emcore values our long-standing business relationship with ATK,” comments Emcore’s chief operating officer Christopher Larocca. “We look forward to working with ATK to support Orbital and NASA for these important missions,” he adds.
With a beginning-of-life (BOL) conversion efficiency nearing 30% and the option for a patented, onboard monolithic bypass diode, Emcore’s multi-junction solar cells provide the highest available power to interplanetary spacecraft and earth-orbiting satellites, it is claimed.
Emcore Multi-junction solar cells
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