The solar aviation specialist mPower Technology Inc. has started a production line for its solar panels at Universal Instruments Corporation in Conklin, New York.
The Albuquerque-headquartered company, a spinoff of Sandia National Laboratories, says the facility is the world’s first automated high-volume aerospace solar module manufacturing facility, enabling delivery to major constellations and lunar energy projects.
“[The production line] today represents a major step forward in delivering space-ready, industrial-scale solar energy for space missions,” a company statement said.
The site opened with a production capacity of 1 MW of mPower’s DragonScales modules, with plans to expand to 2 MW by mid-2026.
The DragonScales modules are made of a flexible, interconnected network of silicon cells that mPower has reported are three to five times cheaper than gallium arsenide cells commonly used for space applications.
The facility already produces modules for aerospace company Airbus under a contract announced last year, under which mPower will supply more than 1.1 MW of modules for Airbus’ MDA Aurora satellite program, which is expected to cover more than 200 spacecraft.
“We already supply flight hardware to customers, and as we expand multi-megawatt capacity over the next year, we will be positioned to support the largest and most ambitious space programs,” said CEO Kevin Hell.
In December 2022, mPower’s DragonScales solar energy system was chosen as the supplier for solar cells on the outside of a space station housing to be developed by Gravitics. The company insured $21 million in Series B funding in May of this year, bringing the total raised to date to $46 million.
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