News: Photovoltaics
17 July 2024
Rocket Lab celebrates CHIPS Act funding preliminary agreement
The executive leadership of launch services and space systems provider Rocket Lab USA Inc of Long Beach, CA, USA welcomed government and community leaders (including Congressional leaders and state and local officials) at its space-grade solar cell manufacturing facility in Albuquerque, New Mexico on 15 July to celebrate its signed preliminary agreement under the US CHIPS and Science Act.
Guests included US Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, US Representative Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.), and Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller was joined by US Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves and White House CHIPS Coordinator Ryan Harper.
Pictured (left to right): Rocket Lab’s VP operations Jerry Winton and chief financial officer Adam Spice; US Congresswoman Melanie Stansbury; Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves; New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham; Albuquerque City Councilor Renee Grout; US Senator Ben Ray Luján; Dr Brad Clevenger, VP & general manager of Rocket Lab Space Systems; and Navid Fatemi, VP business development Rocket Lab. (Image courtesy of Tiffani Cornish Photo.)
Rocket Lab’s solar cell facility has been a technology hub in Albuquerque for the past 25 years, employing more than 370 staff manufacturing space solar technology that has powered over 1100 satellites in orbit. To date, Rocket Lab has produced more than 4MW of solar cell energy (equivalent to powering 14,400 miles driven by an electric car). This has enabled critical space missions (such as the James Webb Space Telescope, NASA’s Artemis lunar explorations, Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, and the Mars Insight Lander) and served a booming commercial satellite market (including powering the OneWeb broadband internet satellite constellation).
The proposed investment of up to $23.9m will aid Rocket Lab’s project to modernize and expand its manufacturing capacity of compound semiconductor space-grade solar cells by 50% within the next three years, creating more than 100 direct manufacturing jobs to Albuquerque. This will help to domestically meet the growing national defense & security and consumer demand for solar cells in spacecraft and satellites (e.g. for critical space programs, missile awareness systems, and exploratory science missions).
“The Economic Development Department is proud to support Rocket Lab’s expansion,” said Mark Roper, Acting Cabinet Secretary for the New Mexico Economic Development Department. “In the last 25 years, they’ve been committed to investing in New Mexico and their local community, creating manufacturing jobs, and providing internship and educational opportunities for the next generation of New Mexicans,” he added.
Rocket Lab allocated $23.9m US CHIPS Act funding
