Star Catcher Industries is preparing its Protostar spacecraft for a power-beaming test that could reshape how satellites receive energy in orbit.<\/p>\n
The prototype is slated to launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base aboard SpaceX\u2019s Transporter-18 mission in October 2026. Star Catcher plans to use the mission to transmit optical power between two independent spacecraft.<\/p>\n
The demonstration would mark a major step toward wireless energy delivery in space. It would also test several systems together under actual orbital conditions.<\/p>\n
Power transfer gets orbital test<\/p>\n
Protostar combines the main technologies Star Catcher needs for its proposed orbital power network. The spacecraft can harvest energy, locate another spacecraft, and maintain a tracking link.<\/p>\n
It can then direct that energy toward a receiving spacecraft. Star Catcher plans to deploy a CubeSat during the mission for that test. The CubeSat will carry commercially available solar panels. Protostar will aim its power beam at those panels and measure the resulting energy transfer.<\/p>\n
That setup will give engineers operational data that ground testing cannot fully reproduce. Orbital motion also adds another layer of complexity to acquisition and tracking.<\/p>\n
Michael Snyder, Star Catcher\u2019s co-founder and chief technology officer, said the mission will provide critical operational data. He said those results will guide development of the company\u2019s planned orbital power network.<\/p>\n
The company has already tested parts of the system before reaching the launch stage. Its terrestrial work included an optical power-beaming demonstration at NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center.<\/p>\n
Earlier tests paved the way<\/p>\n
Star Catcher also completed the Sextant Alpha mission in late 2025. That flight demonstrated spacecraft acquisition and tracking software in orbit.<\/p>\n
Engineers used results from those efforts while developing Protostar. The company says it moved from its founding in 2024 to a flight-ready prototype within two years.<\/p>\n
Protostar will therefore serve as an integrated test of the technology. Its mission will combine energy collection, spacecraft tracking and wireless transmission in one orbital system.<\/p>\n
The receiving CubeSat will provide a practical target for the demonstration. Success would show that spacecraft can exchange useful optical power without a physical connection.<\/p>\n
Larger orbital power network<\/p>\n