Sierra Space opens new solar array facility in Colorado
Sierra Space has inaugurated a new manufacturing facility in Colorado to ramp up production of its SMT solar power systems, including components for national defense applications.
The new “Power Station” technology center spans approximately 70,000 square feet in Broomfield and includes Surface Mount Technology (SMT) production lines, an integrated test center, and advanced tooling for thermal and vibration testing. The company says in a press release athat the USD 45 million investment will support the delivery of high-density, defence-hardened solar arrays for satellites and other space systems.
The announcement follows Sierra Space’s recent launch of "Sierra Space Defense", a new division focused on national security programs, and the opening of the Victory Works defence satellite manufacturing site.
“Sierra Space is re-industrialising the space-defence technology sector,” says Sierra Space Vice President Erik Daehler. “We have the ability to build a solar panel a day, and a wing a week. We plan to deliver 40 satellite wings in the first phase of production and are scaling up to a 100 satellites wings per year by our full rate of production.”
Sierra Space employs more than 100 people at the new site and is targeting large-scale production for satellite constellations.
Sierra Space offers low-cost, highly scalable power systems with ranges from 10 watts to 10 kilowatts, and its end-to-end electric power solutions consist of fully assembled and tested solar arrays, solar array drives, slip rings, hinges, hold-down mechanisms, and motor control electronics.