GS Yuasa has manufactured space qualified Li-ion cells for use on satellites and other spacecraft since the early 1990’s.  During this time our expertise has been focused on developing the best and most reliable cell technology.  GS Yuasa’s technology is trusted by leaders in the satellite manufacturing and operating industries to provide uncommon reliability and the highest performance energy storage solutions for critical space applications.

To date, GS Yuasa has manufactured thousands of large format Li-ion cells for space and has built strong working relationships with many battery and spacecraft manufacturers including: JHU/APL, EaglePicher, ISRO, JAXA, NASA, MELCO, Northrup Grumman, Space Systems / Loral and Thales Alenia Space. As of January, 2023, the power systems of more than 200 satellites have relied on GS Yuasa’s Li-ion cell technology for a total of more than 4.5MWh of energy storage flown and over 550 million working cell hours without anomaly or failure.  On a total energy storage capacity basis, GS Yuasa is the world leader in Li-ion for space.

Our lithium ion cells for aerospace applications are exclusively manufactured by GS Yuasa Technology, LTD (GYT) in Kyoto, Japan.  GYT is certified ISO9001, JIS Q9100 (technically equivalent to AS9100), and ISO14001.  GYT is fully capable of performing in-house cell level qualification testing, including electrical, environmental and safety testing.  Our lithium ion cells have successfully completed several unique space qualification programs.

Among the space programs that GYLP has supported is Northrup Grumman’s (formerly Orbital Sciences Corporation) Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program.  Now, NG’s Cygnus vehicle is a commercial resupply (CRS) vehicle for the International Space Station.  GYLP also supported NASA during the critical main battery replacement of the International Space Station.

GYLP and GYT have managed numerous US and International space programs and our cells are being used to power satellite systems such as:

    • NASA Van Allen Probes (Radiation Belt Storm Probes)
    • NASA International Space Station – Main Battery
    • Northrop Grumman – Cygnus, Commercial Resupply Services
    • Northrop Grumman – AMC-5R and FM1 GEO Programs
    • H-IIB Rocket
    • Kounotori 2 Transfer Vehicle

GYLP’s advanced modeling capability allows us to work with customers and their application’s duty cycle data to determine the optimal cell and battery configuration to best match the mission requirements.

Links to spec sheets:
LSE Gen III Cells for Space
LSE12x – Small Form Factor Cell for Space
LFC40 for Rockets
MA190 Modular Batteries for Satellites