LOGAN, Utah – Solar energy startup Solestial announced plans Aug. 2 to provide solar arrays for space tugs developed by Denver startup Atomos Space.
Atomos plans to check a small Solestial photovoltaic panel on an orbital transfer vehicle demonstration set to launch on a SpaceX Transporter rideshare flight in early 2024. Solestial also will supply large solar blankets for 2 Atomos’ solar-electric OTVs slated to start flying in late 2024 or early 2025.
Atomos chosen Solestial’s technology due to its performance and price.
Kilowatts per Kilogram
By way of “kilowatts of output per kilogram of array, Solestial’s solution was really best at school,” Vanessa Clark, Atomos co-founder and CEO, told . “We will get 20 kilowatts of solar arrays for lower than 100 kilograms.”
Atomos OTVs need large solar arrays to maneuver business and government satellites “relatively quickly” from low-Earth to geostationary orbit and from geostationary transfer orbit to geostationary orbit, Clark said.
“Those missions aren’t possible with the solar arrays which might be available today or with chemical propulsion,” Clark said. “For our business, Solestials technology is actually enabling and we’re enthusiastic about what it should enable for our customers too.”
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Technology Validation
For Solestial, the Atomos contract is vital validation from a customer with a demanding mission.
Atomos “needs a huge solar array and likewise needs it to be really lightweight,” said Stan Herasimenka, Solestial co-founder and CEO. “We’re still validating the technology. Being an alpha customer takes plenty of trust within the team and technology.”
Solestial is stress testing its technology on the bottom. As well as, small solar panels have been shipped to multiple Solestial customers for on-orbit demonstrations.
Earlier this 12 months, the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission validated Solestial’s claim that its silicon solar cells can effectively anneal (or cure) radiation damage under sunlight at 90 degrees Celsius.
Each Atomos and Solestial participated within the 2019 Techstars accelerator, where the founders met. Solestial raised $10 million and Atomos raised $5 million in 2022.