Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc. is focused on one aspect of what is commonly referred to as solar energy, namely photovoltaics. Photovoltaics (PV), often called solar cells, refer to a category of electronic device that captures sunlight and converts it into electrical energy. If you’d like to learn more about PV, a good site to visit is www.nrel.gov.

As sunlight in space is unencumbered by weather and atmosphere, PV is the primary means for generating electricity for a spacecraft. Current technologies are based on thin, fragile, complex, semiconductor wafers that require additional structural reinforcement and substantial front-side protection to prevent damage over the lifetime of the spacecraft. This structure adds significant weight and the complexity adds significant cost to the solar array. In addition, current array technologies are often large and bulky requiring significant volume for stowage in the rocket before launch. Ascent Solar Technologies is developing a product solution to address all these shortcomings of current systems.