“Solar Glitter” Makes Its Mark On The Space Solar Race

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The space solar race has been heating up of late, with some innovators anticipating that orbiting arrays of solar panels will beam solar energy down to Earth on a 365-24/7 basis by 2030. Meanwhile, the more reachable field of space-to-space solar applications is also cooking on high heat after many long years of R&D. One example is new “solar glitter” technology, adapted for use in outer space by the US startup mPower.

The Long Road To Space Solar Power

Of course, using solar cells to run satellites and other systems in outer space is nothing new. Back in 2015 Matt Damon even used solar panels to grow potatoes on Mars…oh wait, that was a movie. The timeline for actual space solar stretches all the way to 1958, when the US launched the Vanguard 1 satellite, equipped six solar panels made of up of silicon solar cells.

The Vanguard 1 solar cells achieved a solar conversion efficiency of about 10%, which was a big improvement over the first commercially practical Earth-bound solar cell introduced by Bell Labs at 6% efficiency in 1954. Still, 10% is a blip on the screen compared to the hyper-efficient space solar technology of later years, and efforts to push down weight while pushing up efficiency continue to this day.

The solar glitter angle popped up in 2009, when Sandia National Laboratory introduced the world to “tiny glitter-sized photovoltaic cells that could revolutionize the way solar energy is collected and used.”

“The solar particles, fabricated of crystalline silicon, hold the potential for a variety of new applications,” Sandia explained “They are expected eventually to be less expensive and have greater efficiencies than current photovoltaic collectors that are pieced together with 6-inch- square solar wafers.”

From Solar Glitter To DragonSCALES

That’s easier said than done. Within a few years, though,  solar glitter was inching out of the lab and into commercial application. In 2015 the pint-sized PV tech itself was spun out to the firm mPower (aka mPower Technology, not to be confused with similarly named companies), to be marketed for ultra-light space solar applications under the somewhat colorful name of DragonSCALES.

The latest news from mPower illustrates how the space solar industry is in a stage of rapid expansion. On August 26, mPower announced a strategic investment from the Lockheed Martin Ventures branch of Lockheed, bringing the startup’s Series B funding round over the $24 million mark. The new funding will support the scaleup of DragonSCALES modules to meet increasing demand.

“Space has never been more important to national security, and affordable, reliable power is a mission-critical enabler for future space operations,” emphasized Lockheed Martin Ventures VP and GM Chris Moran.

“The technology in development by mPower solves some of the hard challenges in unique and innovative ways—opening new doors for spacecraft design, power production, and scalability,” Moran added in a press statement.

As noted by mPower, Lockheed joins a growing list of potential and current DragonSCALES deployments among other leading space industry stakeholders including Airbus. Blue Origin/Honeybee, Firefly Aerospace, Lynk Global, and Gravitics are also on the list.

More Space Solar On The Way

Other space solar innovators have also been making news in recent weeks. On December 3, two US startups — Solestial and Ascent Solar Technologies — both announced significant new developments.

Solestial’s announcement involved a new agreement with NASA’s Glenn Research Center, aimed at developing high-performing, highly resilient arrays of ultrathin silicon solar cells in space (see more Solestial background here).

Ascent played its cards a little closer to the vest. On December 3 the company let word slip that it has provided sample modules to “a leading space company” for testing.

“The modules are currently being tested on their ability to generate power for spacecraft in Cislunar space, the region of space between the Earth and the moon. Preliminary findings from these tests have shown promising results for the technology’s capabilities,” Ascent explained.

Ascent also alluded to other assessments under way. “Ascent’s solar power generation products are being evaluated in trade studies like these and others to help maximize space vehicle mission capabilities without adding mass that could weigh vehicles down,” the company elaborated, referring to the energy required for Moon missions compared to low Earth orbit systems.

“Equipping a spacecraft with Ascent’s thin-film solar arrays that can endure the extreme radiation found in deep space enables mission designs that can go farther, accomplish more, and operate longer on the lunar surface and beyond,” emphasized Ascent CEO Paul Warley.

Earth To NASA, Come In Please

Ascent has been sailing across the CleanTechnica radar since 2011, earning contracts with the US Air Force and a collaboration with Germany’s DLR (the German Aerospace Center or Deutsches Zentrum für Luft-und Raumfahrt) in addition to support from the US Department of Energy.

The “leading space company” referred to in the Ascent’s December 3 announcement could mean any one of a dozen or so contenders. In one particularly interesting development, two months ago Ascent announced a new collaboration with the firm Defiant Space aimed at developing space solar opportunities with NATO and “Five Eyes” (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK and the US) partner nations. That’s somewhat reassuring from a national security perspective, considering that the White House has been literally asleep at the wheel when not openly supporting Russia’s ongoing crusade to expand its footprint in Europe.

“By combining Defiant’s strategic relationships with Ascent’s proprietary thin-film solar technology, the companies aim to identify areas where advanced American solar solutions can contribute to shared defense, security, and commercial initiatives,” Ascent emphasized in a press statement.

As for the heady world of space-to-Earth solar beaming, Ascent did enter into a solar beaming collaboration with NASA last spring, but that was focused on developing space-to-space applications.

“Ascent estimates that its CIGS cells can receive 10 times more power in space than they can on Earth, slashing the mass and volume required of distributed space solar arrays down to the bone,” CleanTechnica reported in October, with CIGS referring to the company’s thin film copper-indium-gallium-selenide technology.

As recently as April of 2024, NASA made it clear that space-to-Earth beaming technology is not a priority mission for the agency, at least not directly. However, researchers have drawn attention to at two key technologies in the NASA portfolio that could support space-to-Earth applications (see lots more space-to-Earth background here).

Keep an eye on the US space solar startup Aetherflux. Founded by Robin Hood co-founder Baiju Bhatt with an initial self-fund of $10 million, in April the company gathered in an additional $50 million in Series A financing, led by Index Ventures and Interlagos along with Breakthrough Energy Ventures and a list of high profile individual investors. If all goes according to plan, an orbiting demonstration is anticipated sometime next year.

Photo (cropped): Nanoscale particles of “solar glitter” form the foundation of new photovoltaic technology launched by the US startup mPower for space solar applications (cropped, courtesy of Sandia National Laboratory via US DOE).