EMCORE has announced that it has been awarded a contract by Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corporation (BATC) to design, manufacture, test and deliver solar panels for a new spacecraft. The period of performance for this program is about 2 years, with a total contract value of nearly $6 million.

The solar panels delivered to BATC will be populated with EMCORE's ZTJ multi-junction solar cells. The ZTJ is currently the highest performance space-grade solar cell available in volume production to the global market. Production of the solar cells and panels will take place at EMCORE's state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA.

"We are very pleased to receive this award from Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corporation and recognize their confidence in our capabilities to manufacture and deliver the solar panels for this important mission," said Christopher Larocca, Chief Operating Officer for EMCORE.

"Our proven manufacturing capability, technology leadership and high-reliability solar panels make EMCORE the supplier of choice for demanding spacecraft power systems."

EMCORE is the world's leading manufacturer of highly-efficient radiation-hard solar cells for space power applications. With a beginning-of-life (BOL) conversion efficiency nearing 30% and the option for a patented, onboard monolithic bypass diode, EMCORE's industry leading multi-junction solar cells provide the highest available power to interplanetary spacecraft and earth orbiting satellites.