Pentagon awards $7.1 million to expand U.S. production of cover glass for satellites

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon awarded $7.1 million to Martin Materials Solutions to expand U.S. manufacturing of space-qualified cover glass, a specialized material used to protect the solar cells that power satellites. The investment, announced July 17 under the Defense Production Act, highlights the Pentagon’s concern about supply risks involving even relatively small components needed to build military and commercial spacecraft. Martin Materials is one of a limited number of U.S.-based companies supplying or fabricating cover glass for satellite solar cells, although other domestic companies operate at different stages of the production chain. The funding will help establish and scale production at the company’s facility in Twinsburg, Ohio, the Pentagon said. Solar-cell cover glass consists of thin sheets of radiation-resistant material placed over the photovoltaic cells on spacecraft solar arrays. The glass shields the cells from radiation and micrometeorites, filters damaging wavelengths of light and helps preserve their structural integrity during years of operation in orbit. The award was made under Title III of the Defense Production Act, which allows the federal government to invest directly in companies, equipment and production capacity needed to expand or restore domestic supplies of materials and technologies considered essential to national defense. Martin Materials Solutions is a small, privately held specialty-glass company that produces thin cover glass for spacecraft solar cells. It also makes glass used in thermal-control mirrors, which reflect heat and help prevent satellite electronics from overheating. The award appears intended to add capacity and reduce reliance on a limited group of domestic and foreign sources for space-qualified material.