The International Space Station has made it possible for people to have a sustained presence in space. But it may be surprising to some people that the solar cells that power the ISS are produced at Spectrolab in Sylmar.
At Spectrolab in Sylmar, you will find workers creating thousands of solar cells. These units absorb sunlight in space and convert the sunlight into electrical power. The solar cells have been crucial in powering U.S. space missions and satellites for the past six decades.
"We start from raw materials and we build all the way up to the array level," said Julie Hoskin, Vice President of solar products for Spectrolab. "Spectrolab has powered more than 1,000 missions in its 67-year history. One of the major things we're working on right now here in the factory is building solar panels for the International Space Station," Milavec said. "We powered the first set of solar panels over 20 years ago and now we're working on augmenting several other panels."
"The technology that is used on the International Space Station puts solar cells on a sheet, almost like a canvas that can then be rolled up and launched into the International Space Station," Milavec said.
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