Department of Commerce and Rocket Lab Aree to Expand Production of Compound Semiconductors

The proposed CHIPS investment would help create a more robust and resilient supply of space-grade solar cells that power spacecrafts and satellites.

The modernization and expansion project would increase Rocket Lab’s compound semiconductor production by 50% within the next three years – helping to meet the growing national security and commercial demand for these solar cells in the United States. The proposed investment would create over 100 direct manufacturing jobs.

Headquartered in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Rocket Lab is one of two companies in the United States that specialize in the production of highly efficient and radiation resistant compound semiconductors called space-grade solar cells – devices used in space to convert light to electricity. Rocket Lab’s space-grade solar cells power important U.S. space programs, such as missile awareness systems and exploratory science missions, including the James Webb Space Telescope, NASA’s Artemis lunar explorations, the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, and the Mars Insight Lander.

Rocket Lab’s technology also serves a growing commercial satellite market. As the United States and other nations expand their technological presence in space, particularly with Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites that provide for more resiliency in space, there is a need for more space-grade solar cells to enable the industry’s transition. Space-based defense systems are also important components for our economic and national security, and are reliant on solar power.

In New Mexico, Rocket Lab will partner with New Space New Mexico (NSNM), a 501(c)(3) organization founded to accelerate the pace of innovation in New Mexico alongside government, academic, and private stakeholders.

As part of this partnership, Rocket Lab will contribute $2 million over the next three years, allow access to their equipment, services, and personnel, and sponsor internship positions to advance the NewSpace Ignitor and Pathways to the Stars programs—two core initiatives of the NSNM program. NewSpace Ignitor will establish co-innovation hubs in Albuquerque, Navajo Nation, and rural southern New Mexico to provide opportunities and promote high-tech manufacturing in underserved communities.