Summary Points:
- Star Catcher Industries achieved a new world record for wireless optical power transmission, surpassing a DARPA benchmark.
- The company delivered more than 1.1 kilowatts of power using laser-based optical beaming at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.
- Tests validated key technologies for Star Catcher’s planned orbital energy grid, known as the Star Catcher Network.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Star Catcher Industries, Inc., a Jacksonville, Fla.-based space energy company developing an orbital power grid, has set a new record for wireless optical power transmission, surpassing a benchmark established by the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
In testing at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Kennedy Space Center, the company delivered more than 1.1 kilowatts of electrical power to commercial off-the-shelf solar panels using multi-wavelength laser technology. The previous record of 800 watts was set by DARPA in May 2025. Over the course of the test campaign, Star Catcher transmitted more than 10 megajoules of energy at Space Florida’s Launch and Landing Facility.
The demonstrations were part of efforts to validate technologies for the company’s planned orbital energy network, the Star Catcher Network.
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"Our existing Power Purchase Agreements confirm that the market understands both the value and scalability of our technology to revolutionize power delivery beyond Earth," said Andrew Rush, chief executive officer and co-founder of Star Catcher. "These real-world results offer proof of the soundness and maturity of our approach to building a resilient orbital power grid."
The company’s space-based optical power beaming system collects and concentrates sunlight in orbit, converts it into optimized wavelengths for spacecraft solar panels, and transmits it wirelessly to satellites. The process enables client spacecraft to generate two to ten times more power without requiring retrofits.
During testing, Star Catcher delivered between one and ten Suns of optical energy to multiple commercial solar panels, including an Astro Digital triple-junction panel used on flight-proven satellite buses. The tests confirmed compatibility with existing spacecraft hardware.
The company also transmitted power to several customer payloads representing markets such as space data centers, in-space manufacturing, and remote sensing. Among the demonstrations, Star Catcher wirelessly recharged the onboard batteries of Intuitive Machines’ Lunar Terrain Vehicle, showing how the system could support continuous operations during the lunar night and in shadowed regions.
"Space has waited decades for its energy revolution," said Howard Morgan, chair and general partner of B Capital. "Star Catcher just delivered it."
