SolAero Technologies Provides Primary Power to 91 Satellites in Record-BreakingLlaunch

SolAero Technologies Corp. (SolAero), a leading provider of high efficiency solar cells, solar panels, and composite structural products, extends our sincere congratulations to the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) on its successful, record-breaking launch and deployment of 104 satellites from a single rocket.  This achievement nearly tripled the previous record of 37 successful deployments from a single launch.

Ninety-one of the satellites deployed from ISRO's PSLV-C37 rocket are powered by SolAero products, also a record.  This includes two satellites for which SolAero provided solar panels incorporating its industry-leading Inverted Metamorphic Multi-junction (IMM) solar cell technology.  At 32% conversion efficiency and 30% lighter weight than conventional space solar cells, IMM represents the highest performance solar cell commercially available. These missions represent the fourth space flight for the IMM solar cell technology, with several more planned to launch in 2017.

"We're very excited to be part of this milestone achievement by ISRO, Antrix Corporation Limited and all of the satellite manufacturers represented on PSLV-C37," said Brad Clevenger, CEO of SolAero Technologies Corp.  "The team at SolAero appreciates the opportunity to partner with all involved and, in particular, for their support bringing innovative products like IMM to bear on challenging problems."

The 10% relative performance improvement and 30% reduction in mass of the IMM solar cell relative to conventional space solar cells present opportunities to redesign satellite solar arrays and reduce both their total costs to manufacture and launch.  The performance of radiation-hardened IMM solar cells has been validated by multiple organizations in ground testing and on-orbit, which has accelerated its commercial adoption. 

SolAero Technologies | www.solaerotech.com