The sunshade for NASA’s Near-Earth Object (NEO) Surveyor is currently undergoing inspections at a BAE Systems facility in Boulder, Colorado. The structure, which arrived at the site in May, was assembled in a clean room during July 2026.
The hardware stands 6 meters tall and 2.4 meters wide at its base. It features two panels joined at a 23.5-degree angle, equipped with 864 interconnected solar cells. This array is designed to produce up to 2 kilowatts of power to charge the spacecraft's onboard batteries.
The structure was manufactured by Applied Aerospace in Stockton, California. SolAero Technologies in Albuquerque, New Mexico, installed the solar cells in January. Environmental testing took place at a facility in El Segundo, California, in March before the unit was delivered ahead of schedule.
Once operational in space, the NEO Surveyor will detect asteroids and comets, including those located near the Sun. This region is difficult for ground-based optical telescopes to monitor effectively.
