LOGAN, Utah — Solar startup Solestial announced Aug. 2 plans to power space shuttles with solar devices developed by Denver startup Atomos Space.
Atomos plans to test the small Solestial solar module as part of an orbital transport vehicle demonstration planned for a joint SpaceX Transporter flight in early 2024. Solestial will also provide large sunroofs for the two solar-powered OTVs. In 2024 or early 2025.
Atomos chose Solestial technology for performance and price.
kilowatt per kilo
Vanessa Clark, founder and CEO of Atomos, told SpaceNews that "in terms of kilowatts of power per kilogram of mass, Solestial's solution was truly the best."
Clark said Atomos OTV requires large solar arrays to get commercial and government satellites from low-Earth orbit to geostationary orbit and transfer from geostationary to geostationary orbit "fairly quickly."
"These missions are not possible with today's solar cells or chemical propulsion," Clark said. "There's no doubt that Solestials technology is an asset to our business, and we're excited to bring it to our customers."
Technology Validation
For Solestial, the Atomos contract is an important customer identification with a difficult task.
Atomos "must be a giant solar cell and also be very light," says Stan Herasimenka, founder and CEO of Solestial. "We are still validating the technology. Being an Alpha customer requires a lot of trust in the team and the technology.'
The Solestial is a stress test of its technology on Earth. In addition, small solar panels have been sent to various Solestial customers for demonstration in orbit.
Earlier this year, France's Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission validated Solestial's claim that its silicon solar cells can effectively treat (or cure) radiation damage from sunlight at 90 degrees Celsius.
Atomos and Solestial attended the Techstars Accelerator 2019, where the founders met. Solestial raised $10 million in 2022 and Atomos $5 million.
