Star Catcher Industries, Inc.the space energy company that develops the first orbital power gridhas established a new world record for wireless optical power transmissionsurpassing that previously achieved by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency of the United States (DARPA).
With its proprietary technology Star Catcher Networkhas managed to deliver 1.1kW of power to standard commercial solar panels and demonstrate the potential of its wireless energy transmission system, a technology that presented eight months ago. This opens the door to in-orbit testing in 2026before starting the full deployment of its constellation in 2027.
The idea behind the design of Star Catcher Industries is deploy energetic satellites in space that collect and concentrate sunlight and transmit it to other satellites using multispectral lasersincreasing the power that they can generate with their own panels without the need for modifications.
DARPA has tried something similar with microwaves, but Star Catcher’s laser focus could be simpler and has already surpassed the record of the US agency, which managed to supply 800 watts last May. Star Catcher has reached 10 megajoules of energy during the tests carried out in the Kennedy Space Center of the POT to validate the technologies of its future orbital network.
The company, founded in 2024has already signed six power purchase agreements valued ‘in tens of millions of dollars,’ according to the statement, with organizations operating in markets such as in-orbit data infrastructure, remote sensing and satellite platforms.
‘Our existing power purchase agreements confirm that the market understands both the value and scalability of our technology to revolutionize energy delivery beyond Earth. “These real-world results provide definitive proof of the robustness and maturity of our approach to building a resilient orbital power grid,” he said. Andrew RushCEO and co-founder of Star Catcher.
This is how Star Catcher Network works, the first orbital electrical network
Power generation remains the major bottleneck for space capabilities, the company explains. Satellites in service cannot produce the power required by increasingly complex missions on their own..
The Star Catcher proposal aims to resolve that limitation with optical power transmission. Star Catcher Network collects and concentrates sunlight in orbit, adjusts it to optimal wavelengths for today’s panels, and sends it wirelessly to client satellites, which With it they can generate between two and ten times more energyon demand and without the need for modifications. As these are satellites conceived as dedicated energy platforms, their designs could be optimized to maximize solar collection, something difficult to replicate in conventional multi-purpose ships.
During the tests, in addition to supplying power to several commercial solar panels, the company also recharged the lunar rover’s batteries Lunar Terrain Vehicle (LTV) of Intuitive Machineswhich is part of the Artemis program. According to Star Catcher, its technology allows expand the operational range of lunar rovers and keep them active during the two weeks of lunar night and in permanently shadowed regions.
Howard Morganpresident and general partner of the investment fund B Capitalone of the company’s main investors, notes that ‘space has waited decades for its energy revolution. Star Catcher just made it a reality‘.
Power generation and transmission systems like this could unlock in-orbit manufacturing and assemblyprovide backup power to damaged satellites and give rise to a new power generation industry in space.