Our focus is clear, and that is to help our customers increase satellite capacity and therefore increase revenue potential. To that end, we have established a new industry standard, but please expect more from Spectrolab, for we continue to push technology to provide innovative, risk-free products to our customers. In cooperation with the U.S. Air Force, under its Dual Use and Technology program, we are developing space application solar cells with 35 percent efficiencies. The use of more efficient solar cells makes it possible to increase the power on existing, and flight-proven, satellite models, and reduce time to market of today's satellite designs. The added efficiency also makes it possible to have either a lighter, smaller array of equivalent power or a more powerful array with no increase in size or weight.
Improved efficiency means a reduction in launch and on-orbit operational costs.
Spectrolab has boosted its solar cell production capacity to deliver nearly 1 megawatt of power per year to global spacecraft manufacturers, and has reduced the cycle time required to transfer new designs into flight production by nearly 50 percent. Spectrolab, founded in 1956, has been supplying solar cells and panels to the space industry for 40 years. Pioneer 1, launched in 1958, carried the first body-mounted panels used in space. The following year, Explorer 6 used Spectrolab products and was the first satellite to use solar arrays instead of body-mounted panels. Spectrolab is headquartered in Sylmar, Calif., a suburb of Los Angeles.