SolAero Technologies in Albuquerque says it provided components for solar arrays on their way to asteroids aboard NASA's Lucy mission. The space vehicle was recently launched into the skies for a 12-year voyage to explore Jupiter's Trojan asteroids.
Lucy is powered with near-24-foot solar arrays from Northrop Grumman Space Systems with SolAero's ZTJ cell tech to power the spacecraft. SolAero's solar cells show "superior performance" in low-intensity sunlight and low-temperature environments "characteristic of interplanetary missions," according to a release from the company.
NASA's Lucy probe was launched on Oct. 16 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The vehicle, about 24 feet in height and almost 52 feet in width, can be tracked on NASA's website.
"We were delighted to see the culmination of so much hard work by so many partners embodied in today's launch of Lucy," said Brad Clevenger, president and CEO of SolAero Technologies, in an Oct. 16 statement. "We offer our sincere congratulations to the entire Lucy team, in particular our long-time partners at NASA, Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin."
SolAero has previously worked on 20 projects utilizing Northrop Grumman's UltraFlex solar array tech, including resupply missions for the International Space Station and the Mars InSight Lander, the release says. The company supplies solar products for the aerospace market. It was founded in 1998 and has more than 118,000 square feet of space in Albuquerque for the production of solar cells, panels and panel substrates "with room for expansion," according to SolAero's website.
In addition, SolAero supplied the solar panel that facilitated the first "powered, controlled flight" on another planet, the firm announced in April. The panel was for the Ingenuity Mars helicopter, according to the company. The helicopter hitched a ride to Mars via the Perseverance rover, according to NASA.
