Ascent provides NASA with PV modules for upcoming space mission

US flexible thin-film photovoltaic (PV) panels maker Ascent Solar Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:ASTI) announced on Tuesday that this summer, its solar module products will fly on NASA’s Lightweight Integrated Solar Array and AnTenna (LISA-T) mission.

The goal of this upcoming mission, led by NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate and the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, is to demonstrate the capability to deploy large-area arrays on lightweight, low-cost, and small spacecraft, the company said in a statement.

“This mission will demonstrate that previously unachievable spacecraft requirements can in fact be met,” said CEO Paul Warley, adding that the modules developed for LISA-T informed the design of the company’s Titan line of space products.

LISA-T is the fourth mission in NASA’s Pathfinder Technology Demonstrator (PTD) series of missions that aim to evaluate novel, small spacecraft capabilities in orbit. The solar arrays that will be used as part of it are lower mass and stowed volume, and generate three times more electricity than alternative PV solutions traded within the system envelope, Ascent noted.

The solar panel maker, which operates a research and development centre and a 5-MW factory in Colorado, previously provided its CIGS products for evaluation on the International Space Station (ISS).

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