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Star Catcher Industries, a Florida-based startup, has unveiled bold plans to build the worlds first space-based energy grid to power satellites.

In a major boost, the startup has raised $12.25 million in seed funding to build its constellation of power-beaming satellites. The first of these satellites could be in orbit by next year.

Star Catcher Network aims to advance space operations by providing a reliable and abundant power source to the low-Earth orbit satellites.

Were confident Star Catcher will do for orbital power what SpaceX has done for launch. Theyre a proven, veteran commercial space team executing on an audacious vision at high speed, said Andrew Sather, Principal at Initialized Capital who led the funding round.

Beaming energy from space to Earth is a fast-expanding market. For instance, Caltech has been conducting research on space-based solar power and has successfully demonstrated power beaming to Earth.

Moreover, a UK-based company Space Solar has made significant strides in wireless power transmission technology and demonstrated a 360-degree power transmission system. A key advantage of space-based solar power is its ability to provide uninterrupted energy, unlike its Earth-based tech.

However, these initiatives focus on Earths energy demands and do not include satellite power options. Thats where Star Catchers first-of-its-kind network comes in.

The unique energy grid will beam substantial broad-spectrum power to spacecraft in LEO and beyond.

The network will consist of power node satellites positioned in low Earth orbit, around 900 miles (1,500 kilometers) above the Earth. These satellites will harness solar power and transmit it efficiently to customer spacecraft.

By supplying energy at higher intensities than sunlight, the network will allow spacecraft to generate five to 10 times more power than their existing solar arrays.

The need for high-powered space applications is rapidly increasing. It is widely used in orbital telecommunications, computing, remote sensing, human spaceflight, and among other space applications.

As LEOs satellite population explodes to over 40,000 by 2030, Star Catcher forecasts a dramatic increase in power needs to 840 megawatts. The current space power capacity stands at only tens of megawatts.

Star Catcher is expected to dramatically increase space power by providing high-energy input to solar arrays, allowing satellites to do more, operate longer, and save money.

Power infrastructure is the foundational building block of civilization and industry; our goal is to expand that foundation into LEO and beyond with our in-space power grid and service, said Andrew Rush, Co-Founder, President, and CEO of Star Catcher.

Being able to buy power for your spacecraft whenever and wherever you need it in LEO will expand opportunity and accelerate humanity realizing the potential of the second golden age of space, Rush added in the press statement.

The seed funding will be used to conduct ground trials to validate and demonstrate Star Catchers power-beaming capabilities.

After validating the technology through ground trials, Star Catcher will conduct an in-orbit demonstration in late 2025 before fully launching the commercial service.

Once deployed, satellite operators can shift to a shared infrastructure mindset, where power consumption will not be constrained by what satellites bring with them, the release noted.

If this bold is successful, the future satellites will no longer limited by their power source.

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Mrigakshi Dixit Mrigakshi is a science journalist who enjoys writing about space exploration, biology, and technological innovations. Her work has been featured in well-known publications including Nature India, Supercluster, The Weather Channel and Astronomy magazine. If you have pitches in mind, please do not hesitate to email her.

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Star Catcher: Worlds first space solar power station gets funding - Interesting Engineering