SolAero Technologies' Solar Panels Power NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center's Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) Mission after Successful Launch
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M., March 17, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- SolAero Technologies Corp. a leading provider of high efficiency solar cells, assemblies and panels for space power applications, is proud to announce that 32 SolAero solar panels populated with high-efficiency triple-junction ZTJ solar cells are powering the four Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission spacecraft that launched successfully on March 12, 2015 aboard the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.
The MMS will study magnetic reconnection, a fundamental process that occurs throughout the universe when magnetic fields connect and disconnect explosively, releasing energy and accelerating particles up to nearly the speed of light. Unlike previous missions that have observed only evidence of magnetic reconnection events, MMS has sufficient resolution to observe and measure reconnection events as they occur. While MMS will fly through reconnection regions in less than a second, key sensors on each spacecraft are able to capture measurements 100 times faster than any previous mission. In addition, MMS consists of four identical observatories, which together will provide the first ever three-dimensional view of magnetic reconnection.
This mission of simultaneously building and launching four identical spacecraft for the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center is unprecedented. Building four spacecraft at the same time – something that had never before been done at Goddard - required a unique set of engineering, management and production skills. In addition, SolAero provided solar panels for each spacecraft designed and built at the highest efficiency and to the highest standards necessary for a successful mission.
About SolAero Technologies Corp.
SolAero Technologies is a leading provider of satellite solar power solutions to the global space markets, encompassing a wide array of applications including civil space exploration, science and earth observation, defense intelligence and communication, and commercial telecommunications industries. SolAero manufactures high efficient, radiation hard solar cells, Coverglass Interconnected Cells (CICs), and solar panels for space power applications. With a Beginning-Of-Life (BOL) conversion efficiency nearing 30% and the option for a patented, onboard monolithic bypass diode, SolAero's industry-leading multi-junction solar cells and panels are currently powering more than 150 satellites with zero on-orbit failures. For more information about SolAero, visit http://solaerotech.com/
About NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center is home to the nation's largest organization of combined scientists, engineers and technologists that build spacecraft, instruments and new technology to study Earth, the sun, our solar system and the universe. Named for American rocketry pioneer Dr. Robert H. Goddard, the center was established in 1959 as NASA's first space flight complex. Goddard and its several facilities are critical in carrying out NASA's missions of space exploration and scientific discovery. For more information visit http://mms.gsfc.nasa.gov/
Contact:
SolAero Technologies Corp.
Navid Fatemi
Vice President
(505) 332-5000
[email protected]
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SOURCE SolAero Technologies Corp.
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