Star Catcher Industries (Star Catcher) prototype power node, Protostar, will launch next month on board SpaceX’s Transporter-18 mission. The Protostar mission aims to conduct a landmark power beaming demonstration between two untethered spacecraft, a feat it claims has never been achieved. This mission is a key milestone in actualizing the orbital energy infrastructure that Star Catcher hopes will power the next era of space operations and exploration. The company announced the potential launch, Sept. 28.
Protostar is the first end-to-end prototype of the company’s core technology stack on orbit: energy harvesting, satellite acquisition and tracking, and energy transmission. Following launch and commissioning, Protostar will deploy and track a CubeSat, to which it will beam measurable power to off-the-shelf solar panels, validating commercial power beaming operations.
Star Catcher has publicly announced ten major commercial Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) with leading space companies such as Starcloud, Loft Orbital, Astro Digital, and Aethero. These agreements, along with over 40 Letters of Intent (LOIs), a $60 million Strategic Funding Increase (STRATFI) Award from the United States Space Force, and $88 million in venture capital, are key behind Star Catcher’s ability to shape its overall vision here.
“Every major application driving the space economy — from real-time national security intelligence to AI-powered orbital computing and Earth observation — is limited by power. We are closer to activating an orbital power grid than most can imagine; flying this prototype in only two years is meaningful evidence of the capability of our team and what’s to come,” Andrew Rush, co-founder and CEO, Star Catcher, said in a statement.
