Startup Star Catcher will test laser energy beaming between two untethered satellites

# What this test is Star Catcher, a Jacksonville startup, is launching Protostar — a small prototype designed to gather sunlight, convert it into a focused laser beam, and transmit that beam to another untethered cubesat on the same SpaceX mission. If Protostar works as intended, it will be the first time energy has been beamed between two separate spacecraft in orbit.

# How Star Catcher's system works Star Catcher builds satellites it calls power nodes that act as both solar collectors and transmission lines. Lenses concentrate sunlight and the system converts that collected light into specific laser wavelengths. The satellite then aims a laser beam at a receiving satellite's solar panels, effectively using light as a transmission cable to deliver power.

The company says the approach can deliver up to 10 times the power density of diffuse sunlight on a targeted receiver. On the ground, Star Catcher set a record last year by delivering more than 1 kilowatt to off-the-shelf solar panels, higher than a previous DARPA benchmark.

# Why this matters commercially

Google's own small space-based data center experiment is hitching a ride on the same flight, highlighting overlapping commercial interest in more power-hungry orbital infrastructure.

# The Protostar mission specifics

# Technical limitations and open questions

• Efficiency: A 2023 Naval Research Laboratory space laser experiment ran for 100 days but over a distance of less than 5 feet and at roughly 11 percent efficiency. Increasing end-to-end conversion efficiency remains essential to practical use.

• Thermal management and durability: Concentrating and converting solar energy produces heat that must be managed in vacuum. Components must also survive the cold and radiation of space for years to be commercially viable.

# Competing or complementary approaches Researchers have pursued microwave transmission for space-to-Earth power. Microwaves can move more energy but require very large receivers on the ground. Lasers can target smaller receivers in space, which may suit satellite-to-satellite power transfers.

# What to watch next Catcher's tracking, aiming, and in-orbit conversion match its ground performance and models. Success would validate the core concept and guide decisions about scaling power, operational lifetime, and commercial deployments. Failure would highlight which technical areas need further development before routine commercial service.