Satellites cannot work without electricity, yet their solar arrays can take longer to buy than the spacecraft takes to build. Source Energy is betting that standardized silicon, automated production, and a catalog mentality can turn a mission risk into an ordinary purchase order.
Solestial is a Tempe, Arizona space-solar company building ultrathin, radiation-hardened silicon photovoltaic modules for satellites and spacecraft. Spun out of Arizona State University research, the company makes flexible space-grade solar power modules that self-cure radiation damage at operating temperatures and targets the megawatt-class power demand of large satellite constellations and on-orbit infrastructure.