Space Lasers to Power Satellites Soon?

Star Catcher, a startup based in Florida, is on the cusp of demonstrating a groundbreaking technology to address a potential energy crisis in space. The company is set to launch its prototype satellite, Protostar, on SpaceX's Transporter-18 mission, with an expected launch no earlier than Thursday. This mission will serve as the first in-orbit test of Star Catcher's system, designed to beam energy between two untethered spacecraft using lasers.

The Protostar mission aims to transmit energy from its satellite to a separate cubesat equipped with solar panels. This demonstration is crucial for validating Star Catcher's core technologies, including energy harvesting, satellite tracking, and power transmission in real-world orbital conditions. The company's ultimate goal is to establish a functional power grid in space by the end of the decade, supporting the expanding orbital economy.

Founded in 2024, Star Catcher believes current satellites lack the power capacity for modern space missions, such as direct-to-cell communication and AI-driven Earth observations. Their proposed solution involves a network of power nodes that collect and convert sunlight into specific wavelengths, capable of delivering significantly more power than conventional methods. Earlier terrestrial tests at NASA's Kennedy Space Center successfully beamed over 1.1 kilowatts of power to solar panels.