Star Catcher is preparing to launch its Protostar power node aboard the SpaceX Transporter-18 mission, currently scheduled for no earlier than October 1. The prototype aims to demonstrate the company's core technology, which includes energy harvesting, satellite tracking, and wireless power transmission between two untethered spacecraft moving at approximately 27,000 km/h.
This mission marks the first orbital test of the company's full technology stack. The team intends to use the data gathered from this demonstration to develop a successor, which will feature a pilot power plant capable of beaming operational levels of energy. The company's long-term goal is to establish an operational orbital power grid by the end of the decade.
The project follows a successful ground-based power-beaming test conducted in Florida last fall. Beyond private development, the technology has attracted interest from the Pentagon. The Defense Innovation Unit has issued a call for power-beaming prototypes, aiming for operational space-to-space and space-to-ground capabilities by the 2030 fiscal year.
