Solestial to Speed up House Photo voltaic Array Manufacturing with $12M SpaceWERX Contract
by Clarence Oxford
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jul 22, 2025
Solestial, Inc., a developer of silicon-based photo voltaic expertise for area functions, has secured a $1.2 million Direct-to-Part II SBIR award from SpaceWERX. The funding will help the design and testing of a next-generation, multiorbital photo voltaic array wing tailor-made for small satellite tv for pc platforms.
With the grant, Solestial plans to optimize its light-weight, radiation-hardened photo voltaic cells and modules for speedy manufacturing and integration. The hassle contains the event of recent electrical interconnects and culminates in a fast-paced prototype demonstration. The corporate goals to manufacture 1 kilowatt of photo voltaic cells and modules over a two-week dash, then assemble and combine a totally purposeful photo voltaic wing in one other two weeks, proving that full photo voltaic arrays could be manufactured inside one month.
The initiative targets key challenges recognized by the Division of the Air Power (DAF), aligning with Solestial’s dedication to advancing U.S. nationwide protection capabilities. DAF launched the Open Matter SBIR/STTR program in 2018 to broaden the technological options it funds.
“This can be a significant award for us that may lead to vital analysis and improvement benefiting the U.S. House Power,” stated Margo de Naray, Solestial CEO. “Lengthy manufacturing lead instances have plagued the incumbent photo voltaic expertise for area. By means of our use of inexpensive, accessible silicon and automatic manufacturing of photo voltaic cells and solar energy modules, Solestial is uniquely positioned to resolve this vital bottleneck and help mission readiness.”
Solestial has obtained over $7 million in SBIR funding thus far from companies together with the U.S. House Power, U.S. Air Power, Air Power Analysis Laboratory, NASA, and the Nationwide Science Basis.
The views expressed are these of the writer and don’t essentially mirror the official coverage or place of the Division of the Air Power, the Division of Protection, or the U.S. authorities.
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