EMCORE Corporation (EMKR), a leading provider of compound semiconductor-based components and subsystems for the fiber optic and solar power markets, has been awarded a solar panel manufacturing contract by Orbital Sciences Corporation for NASA's Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) mission targeted for launch in early 2016.

Solar panels populated with EMCORE's most advanced ZTJ triple-junction solar cells will power the ICESat-2 spacecraft manufactured by Orbital.

ICESat-2 builds on measurements taken by NASA's original ICESat mission. ICESat was the benchmark Earth Observing System mission for measuring ice sheet mass balance, cloud and aerosol heights, as well as land topography and vegetation characteristics. Data from ICESat, which was in orbit from 2003 to 2010, revealed thinning of the world's ice sheets.

ICESat-2 will use precision laser-ranging techniques to measure the topography of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets and the thickness of sea ice. For more information on ICESat-2, please visit here.

"This award for ICESat-2 continues the strong partnership between Orbital Sciences Corporation and EMCORE," said Brad Clevenger, General Manager of EMCORE's Photovoltaics Group. "Our proven manufacturing capability, technology leadership and solar panel reliability make EMCORE the supplier of choice for demanding spacecraft power systems."

EMCORE is the world's leading manufacturer of highly-efficient radiation-hard solar cells for space power applications.

With a Beginning-Of-Life (BOL) conversion efficiency nearing 30% and the option for a patented, onboard monolithic bypass diode, EMCORE's industry-leading multi-junction solar cells provide the highest available power to interplanetary spacecraft and earth orbiting satellites.