Scientist Murat Okandan, chief technology officer and founder of mPower Technology, shows a prototype of DragonSCALES. (Randy Montoya/Sandia National Laboratories)
In the near future, made-in-New Mexico solar cells could power up modular space stations in low-Earth orbit and beyond that Washington-based company Gravitics is now developing.
Gravitics selected mPower Technologies Inc. as its solar-cell supplier for its forthcoming “StarMax” habitats, the two companies announced on Tuesday.
mPower — an Albuquerque-based startup that launched in 2015 with technology originally developed at Sandia National Laboratories — weaves tiny solar cells into a flexible, lightweight mesh that’s specially designed to withstand harsh conditions in space. The mesh, called DragonSCALES, can significantly lower the costs for solar generation needed to supply continuous power for all types of spacecraft, said mPower CEO Kevin Hell.
“Gravitics is building space modules to provide human habitats for research and other activities in space, and they needed a solar solution that’s flexible, resilient and low maintenance,” Hell told the Journal. “DragonSCALES are perfect for that.”
The Gravitics supply agreement is just the latest space contract that mPower has won with space-related companies in the US and other countries. Its solar cells are currently powering up two satellites that were launched since last year into low-Earth orbit by Lynk Global Inc., which is building a constellation of commercial cell towers in space to provide cellphone service for everyday customers on Earth.
London-based OneWeb, which already operates a constellation of about 600 satellites in space to provide high-speed Internet across the globe, also selected mPower in October to test DragonSCALES’ performance on new satellites it will launch in early 2023. And, mPower is now working with California-based Honeybee Robotics to build a lunar charging station under a $7.5 million NASA contract that could be used to supply power for astronauts on the Moon under NASA’s Artemis mission.
“We’re getting tremendous commercial traction,” Hell said. “We’re in a unique position as the only low-cost, space-based solution currently available that’s fully ready for deployment. We’re engaged with over 20 customers around the world now, and we’ve won contracts with nine of them.”
The company eventually expects to deploy its technology for terrestrial applications, such as offering a lightweight, flexible power supply for use in remote locations. It recently delivered a 100-watt prototype for storage in a backpack to the military under a $1.1 million small business research grant approved by the US Army in 2019.
But for now, it’s 100% focused on space applications, Hell said.
“The space market is growing very rapidly with a tremendous amount of ambition and investment in new space systems,” Hell said. “That requires an ever-increasing amount of large-scale power supply at a reasonable cost point, and that’s where DragonSCALES comes in.”
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mPower entwines and connects its solar cells — which individually are only about the width of a human hair — into a robust, textile-like photovoltaic lace that’s extremely light and bendable, allowing it to be folded up and stored in small slots during launch and then deployed once in space. And they can be mass-manufactured with standard semiconductor and solar-cell fabrication tools and technologies, allowing the company to easily adapt and scale up production as needed.
mPower just forged a new partnership with a New York-based manufacturer to make its DragonSCALES, although the company expects to invest in in-house production capabilities as its customer base and business orders grow, Hell said.
The advantages offered by mPower technology enticed OneWeb, said OneWeb Vice President of Technologies Valery Gineste.
“OneWeb is eager to evaluate DragonSCALES,” Gineste said in a statement regarding next year’s deployment of the technology in a demonstration project. “We look forward to working with such innovative companies that can bring low-cost space power solutions that have been a challenge until now.”
For Gravitics, mPower’s technology provides a low-cost power option that’s particularly well-suited for its StarMax modules, said Gravitics CEO Colin Doughan.
The modules will supply up to 400 cubic meters, or 14,000 cubic feet, of habitable volume, representing about half of the pressurized volume currently available on the International Space Station. To scale up, the modules could be linked together in orbit like Lego blocks.
mPower’s photovoltaic lace is resistant to damage from orbital debris, and the flexibility of the solar mesh allows for new design options that align with the curved configuration of StarMax.
“Power is a critical component of any space station,” Doughan said in a statement. “We look forward to working with mPower to provide space-proven, reliable solar power for our StarMax modules, enabling the next generation of space stations.”
mPower, which is based at the Bioscience Center in Uptown, currently employs 18 people in Albuquerque, and at administrative offices in San Diego. It’s raised $16.5 million in venture investment to date, including a $10.5 million round of funding last February that was led by Santa Fe-based Cottonwood Technology Fund.
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