From the Backyard of the Northeast Valley, Spectrolab Has Taken us to the Moon

Most people in the Northeast Valley have no idea that a high-tech facility that is involved in some of the most significant space travel has been operating right in their own backyard. Spectrolab has been operating in Sylmar since 1956 when it was founded by local physicist and entrepreneur Alfred Mann. It was acquired by Hughes Aircraft Company in 1975 and bought by Boeing in 2000. The facility is one of three solar cell manufacturers in the world – cultivating robust cells from raw materials that convert light into energy and then constructing solar panels built to withstand the harshest…