Qualified and flight-proven designs backed by major aerospace companies.
Sierra Space’s engineering teams have the expertise and experience to define, analyze, and test turnkey power systems using state-of-the-art tools and integration equipment. We offer end-to-end electric power generation systems that consist of fully assembled and tested solar arrays, solar array drives, slip rings, hinges, hold down mechanisms, and motor control electronics. These highly scalable power generation systems provide power ranges from watts to multiple kilowatts.
Our heritage and scalable power systems can be tailored to fit a wide variety of mission options with reduced cost and risk by incorporating existing qualified and flight-proven designs. Sierra Space has heritage designs ranging from 28 V to 75 V, with power from 500 W to 3,500 W. With a long and successful heritage, we have provided electro-mechanical systems, subsystems, and components on more than 450 space missions.
Sierra Space has developed an automated solar array manufacturing process using Surface Mount Technology (SMT) to significantly reduce the lead-time of space power. This patented technology enables an unprecedented improvement in watt density, reliability, and solar array lead-time. Our team of engineers, along with strategic industry partners, have developed an all-back-side-contact solar cell that enables solar array assembly through a standard commercial electronics manufacturing pick-and-place operation. This technology results in a zero-touch labor solution and a significant improvement in overall solar array performance.
The SMT solar technology has flight heritage and has been used on several missions to date.
Other Features of our Surface Mount Technology:
Solar arrays undergo rigorous environmental, deployment, and electrical tests at Sierra Space. Depending on the size of the array, we perform in-house random and sine vibration, thermal vacuum, and thermal cycle testing. Before and after each test, solar arrays are subjected to a Large Area Pulsed Solar Simulator (LAPSS) to simulate the AM0 spectrum on a wide range of panel sizes.
In June of 2020, our SMT technology powered a LEO demonstration satellite for a commercial customer. Sierra Space provided 16 individual body mount panels totaling over 200W.
In August of 2021, our first SMT deployable solar array was launched on a Space Force mission to LEO. The 2-panel deployable wing provided over 240 watts of payload power and continues to operate flawlessly.
In November of 2022, our first SMT GEO mission was launched on a government funded mission. The body mount GEO panels provided over 130W of payload power.
In December of 2022, our first SMT lunar mission was launched for a commercial provider. The mission is planned to land on the moon in April of 2023. Total power exceeded 750W. Other missions are in production including another lunar lander and a NASA lunar rover. These particular missions required a survival temperature of -235C to 150C to survive a lunar night. The SMT solar cell technology has passed the qualification program and is in production for these missions.Sierra Space was contracted to provide the solar array for the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Satellite for High Accuracy Radar Calibration (SHARC) program on May 26, 2016. We delivered a fully integrated and tested solar array to AFRL on July 26, 2016—a total program duration of 2 months. The SHARC program launched in 2017 and the SMT provided 25 percent more power than a conventional solar array designed for the same application.
In June of 2020, our SMT technology powered a LEO demonstration satellite for a commercial customer. Sierra Space provided 16 individual body mount panels totaling over 200W. The mission was a success and continues to operate today.
In August of 2021, our first SMT deployable solar array was launched on a Space Force mission to LEO. The 2-panel deployable wing provided over 240 watts of payload power and continues to operate flawlessly.
In November of 2022, our first SMT GEO mission was launched on another Space Force mission. The body mount GEO panels provided over 130W of payload power.
In December of 2022, our first SMT lunar mission was launched for a commercial provider. The mission is planned to land on the moon in April of 2023. Total power exceeded 750W.
Other missions are in production including another lunar lander and a NASA lunar rover. These particular missions required a survival temperature of -235C to 150C to survive a lunar night. The SMT solar cell technology has passed the qualification program and is in production for these missions.
In December of 2022, Sierra Space was awarded a very large constellation program for the Space Development Agency through Maxar. Multiple SMT solar arrays will be manufactured, tested and delivered on this exciting new program.
Sierra Space was contracted to provide the solar array for the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Satellite for High Accuracy Radar Calibration (SHARC) program on May 26, 2016.
We delivered a fully integrated and tested solar array to AFRL on July 26, 2016—a total program duration of 2 months.
The SHARC program launched in 2017 and the SMT provided 25 percent more power than a conventional solar array designed for the same application.
2016-2017In June of 2020, our SMT technology powered a LEO demonstration satellite for a commercial customer. Sierra Space provided 16 individual body mount panels totaling over 200W. The mission was a success and continues to operate today.
2020In August of 2021, our first SMT deployable solar array was launched on a Space Force mission to LEO. The 2-panel deployable wing provided over 240 watts of payload power and continues to operate flawlessly.
2021In November of 2022 our first SMT GEO mission was launched on another Space Force mission. The body mount GEO panels provided over 130W of payload power.
In December of 2022, our first SMT lunar mission was launched for a commercial provider. The mission is planned to land on the moon in April of 2023. Total power exceeded 750W.
Other missions are in production including another lunar lander and a NASA lunar rover. These particular missions required a survival temperature of -235C to 150C to survive a lunar night. The SMT solar cell technology has passed the qualification program and is in production for these missions.
In December of 2022, Sierra Space was awarded a very large constellation program for the Space Development Agency through Maxar. Multiple SMT solar arrays will be manufactured, tested and delivered on this exciting new program.
2022 +
Developed, qualified, and manufactured the solar arrays for the STPSat-5 mission. Each wing consists of two deployable panels for a total power generation of 414 W at the beginning of life (BOL).
Our experts conducted solar cell stringing and laydown for the Space Test Program Satellite-5 (STPSat-5) panels. Cover glass interconnected cells (CIC) were purchased from a heritage space solar cell manufacturer and integrated on to the panels entirely by Sierra Space. Front and backside wire harness was also integrated offering a turnkey solution to the end customer. In addition, we have the capability to perform cell laydown from any solar cell provider. This capability allows us to be cell agnostic when it comes to developing the overall power system resulting in a lower cost, reliable delivery schedule, and the best technical solution to the end customer.
Sierra Space’s team of experts delivered eight solar array assemblies capable of producing 267 W each at the beginning of life (BOL) to NASA Langley for the Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS) hurricane forecasting constellation.
For each NASA CYGNSS spacecraft, the solar assembly consists of four body-mounted panels and two deployable wings making eight panels per spacecraft. Each panel measures approximately 9 inches by 20 inches.
One hold down and release mechanism (HDRM) restrains each wing in the stowed condition through cup/cone shear features that are incorporated into each panel. Following release, spring-driven hinges passively extend the array into the fully deployed configuration. Each solar array wing stows completely within the allowable envelope with a predicted stowed first mode frequency of 312 Hz and a deployed frequency of 6.68 Hz.
We perform in-house random and sine vibration, thermal vacuum, and thermal cycle testing. Our engineers subjected the CYGNSS array to rigorous in-house environmental, deployment, and electrical testing.
The ORBCOMM Generation 2 (OG2) program was an 18 solar array constellation capable of delivering 780 W each at the beginning of life (BOL) that was developed, qualified, and delivered by Sierra Space.
The standard panel dimensions for a 750 W array is approximately 40.6 inches by 33.4 inches with an overall array-deployed length of approximately 105.2 inches. Four hold down and release mechanisms (HDRM) restrain each wing in the stowed condition through cup/cone shear features that are incorporated into each panel. Following release, spring-driven hinges with integral dampers passively extend the array in a controlled and predictable fashion. Each solar array wing stows completely within the allowable envelope with a predicted stowed first mode frequency of 60 Hz.
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