Space Solar Companies

Mantis Space is building a constellation intended to sell power to other satellites. Its spacecraft sit in lower medium Earth orbit where they remain almost continuously in sunlight, and beam energy by high-precision laser down to customer satellites passing through Earth's shadow, which absorb it using the solar arrays they already carry. The appeal is that eclipse periods force satellite designers to carry batteries sized for the dark portion of every orbit, a significant mass and cost penalty. Chief executive Eric Truitt says that by tuning laser wavelength to the absorption peaks of the target's solar cells, the delivered energy converts 20 to 30 percent more efficiently than raw sunlight. The company was founded in 2025 by Truitt and emerged from stealth in March 2026 with a $10 million seed round co-led by Rule 1 Ventures and Montauk Capital, which incubated it in its venture studio. New Mexico and the city of Albuquerque awarded roughly $24 million toward a 2,000 square metre headquarters and manufacturing hub there. A prototype payload and on-orbit customer demonstration are targeted for 2028.

Aetherflux is a San Carlos, California-based space-based solar power (SBSP) startup founded in 2024 by Baiju Bhatt — co-founder and former CEO of Robinhood Markets — pursuing the long-studied concept of collecting solar energy in orbit and beaming it to Earth as infrared laser radiation, with $60 million raised from Breakthrough Energy Ventures (Bill Gates's climate tech fund), Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), and NEA for initial development targeting US military forward operating bases and remote power-constrained installations. The space-based solar power concept is technically elegant: solar panels in LEO orbit receive continuous, unattenuated sunlight (no atmosphere, no nighttime shadow for most orbits) and convert it to electricity, which then drives a high-power infrared laser transmitter (typically 1550nm wavelength for safety and atmospheric transmission efficiency) that beams concentrated photonic energy to a ground receiver (photovoltaic array tuned to convert the laser wavelength). The receiver — a compact 'rectenna' or laser-PV array — can be deployed in remote locations without grid infrastructure, potentially delivering kilowatts to megawatts of reliable power from a single satellite at any location on Earth. The military application is the initial target because DoD's cost of delivering fuel to forward operating bases in conflict zones averages $400/gallon when fully burdened with logistics chain costs — making the high cost of early power-beaming satellites economically competitive against diesel generators. DARPA has previously funded power-beaming research (SBIR programs), and the Naval Research Laboratory demonstrated wireless power transfer from orbit with the PRAM experiment on the X-37B in 2020. Aetherflux aims to move from experiment to operational service. Aetherflux's technical differentiation from previous SBSP concepts (which typically proposed microwave transmission with large phased arrays and large ground antennas) is the use of tightly focused infrared laser beams: smaller transmitter aperture required on orbit, smaller ground receiver footprint, and the directional concentration of energy delivery. The eye safety and aircraft safety challenges of high-power laser beams from orbit require sophisticated tracking and interlock systems to prevent inadvertent exposure. LEO orbit's lower altitude (compared to GEO proposals) reduces transmission path loss and satellite mass requirements while introducing eclipse periods that must be managed. Competitors in power beaming include Virtus Solis, Solaris (ESA study), and various national programs in UK, Japan, and China.

Reflect Orbital

Hawthorne, United States commercial

Reflect Orbital, headquartered in Hawthorne, California, is a venture-backed space startup developing a constellation of sunlight-reflecting satellites designed to extend the productive hours of ground-based solar energy farms by redirecting sunlight onto solar panels during the hours immediately after sunset and before sunrise — addressing one of solar energy's core limitations: the mismatch between peak solar generation (midday) and peak electricity demand (evening). Founded in 2021, Reflect Orbital is developing a constellation of 57 small satellites equipped with lightweight deployable mylar mirror structures — positioned in a low Earth orbit at approximately 373 miles (600 km) altitude — designed to track specific ground-based solar farms and reflect sunlight onto them for targeted illumination windows during twilight hours. The company estimates that even a 1-2 hour extension of productive solar generation per day could substantially increase the energy yield of utility-scale solar farms without requiring additional land or panel installation. The reflector satellites are designed to be slewed to target different solar farms across their orbital ground track, providing a flexible revenue model based on illumination time sold to multiple energy customers. Reflect Orbital has raised $35.2 million in total funding, including a $28.7 million Series A led by Lux Capital and Sequoia Capital — a notable validation from two of Silicon Valley's most prominent deeptech venture firms. CEO Ben Nowack is a former SpaceX engineer who led propulsion development work, bringing operational launch vehicle and satellite deployment expertise to the company's technical execution. The concept faces multiple technical and regulatory challenges: precise attitude control and pointing accuracy to deliver useful illumination density onto solar panel arrays, international dark sky and satellite brightness regulations from the International Astronomical Union (IAU), and the economics of illumination intensity — Earth's solar constant is 1,361 W/m² at TOA, but reflector efficiency losses, distance, and atmospheric attenuation reduce delivered flux significantly. Reflect Orbital competes conceptually with space-based solar power proposals but targets the nearer-term terrestrial solar extension market.

Space Solar

Didcot, United Kingdom commercial

Space Solar is a UK-based space-based solar power (SBSP) development company founded in 2022 and headquartered in Didcot, Oxfordshire, pursuing one of the most technically ambitious energy concepts: orbital solar power stations that collect sunlight continuously in geostationary orbit and beam energy wirelessly to Earth's surface using microwave or laser transmission. Space Solar targets an operational satellite power plant by 2030, with intermediate demonstration milestones in the late 2020s. The SBSP concept is compelling for energy transition: GEO satellites experience sunlight 24 hours per day (eclipsed only during brief equinox periods), eliminating the intermittency problem of terrestrial solar (which averages roughly 15–25% capacity factor due to night, clouds, and seasons). A single GEO SBSP platform of sufficient scale could theoretically beam multiple gigawatts of power to a rectenna on the ground. The received microwave energy density at Earth's surface would be lower than safe human exposure limits and far lower than direct sunlight — but the persistent power delivery matches baseload demand in a way no terrestrial renewable can. Space Solar's technical approach uses lightweight deployable photovoltaic arrays and phased-array microwave transmitters assembled in orbit, with power beamed at approximately 2.45 GHz to ground receiving stations (rectennas) that convert the microwave energy to DC electricity. The company has partnered with Transition Labs, an Iceland-based clean energy development firm, to provide renewable electricity to Reykjavik Energy — a natural first customer given Iceland's decarbonization goals and its high-latitude position (which reduces GEO SBSP geometry efficiency somewhat but makes the marketing narrative compelling). Space Solar's primary technical and business challenges are enormous: launching and assembling hundreds of thousands of square meters of photovoltaic arrays in GEO requires either radically cheaper launch costs or in-space assembly capabilities not yet demonstrated at commercial scale. The UK government has commissioned studies on SBSP feasibility, and the European Space Agency's SOLARIS initiative is building an R&D roadmap. Space Solar competes conceptually with Virtus Solis, Caltech's MAPLE demonstration (first wirelessly transmitted power from orbit to Earth in 2023), and Overview Energy in the nascent SBSP market.

Star Catcher Industries

Jacksonville, United States commercial

Star Catcher Industries is a Jacksonville, Florida-based space power startup founded in 2024 with the ambitious mission of building the world's first orbital energy grid — a space-based power distribution infrastructure that delivers electrical energy to satellites via directed optical (laser) power beaming, enabling satellites to recharge their batteries from a relay satellite rather than depending entirely on their own solar panels. The technology foundation is optical power beaming: a high-power near-infrared laser beam is directed from a power-source satellite (or eventually a dedicated ground station) to a photovoltaic receiver on the target satellite. The photovoltaic receiver converts the laser photons to electricity at 40-60% efficiency at optimized wavelengths (typically 808nm or 1064nm), charging the target satellite's batteries. Star Catcher holds the current world record for optical power transfer at 1.1 kW — a ground demonstration milestone that validates the laser, pointing, and receiver technology at a commercially meaningful power level. The $12.25 million seed round led by Initialized Capital (the early-stage VC firm co-founded by Garry Tan, who became Y Combinator's president) signals institutional investor confidence in both the founding team and the market thesis. Initialized has backed companies including Reddit, Coinbase, and Instacart — its Star Catcher bet reflects belief that space power infrastructure is a venture-scale opportunity. Applications that drive the business case: military reconnaissance satellites that require continuous high-power operation during eclipse periods (where solar panels generate nothing) represent premium-paying early adopters; GEO satellite operators with degraded solar arrays could extend satellite operational life by supplementing power; and future space manufacturing or processing facilities will require far more power than photovoltaics alone can provide at practical launch mass. An orbital power grid — a constellation of laser relay satellites positioned to ensure any satellite can receive a power beam on demand — could fundamentally change space power economics. A 2026 orbital demonstration mission would validate the pointing, tracking, power conversion, and thermal management systems in actual space environment conditions. Competitors and adjacent programs include Caltech's MAPLE (Microwave Array for Power-transfer Low-orbit Experiment, ISS demonstration 2023), ESA's SOLARIS (microwave space solar power study), and startup Virtus Solis (European SBSP). Star Catcher's optical/laser approach — rather than microwave — offers tighter beam divergence and smaller receiver aperture but requires precise pointing.

Volta Space Technologies

Montreal, Canada commercial

Volta Space Technologies, headquartered in Montreal, Canada and founded in 2020, is developing LightGrid — a constellation of satellites in lunar orbit designed to beam solar power to the lunar surface via laser, providing continuous electrical power to spacecraft, rovers, and eventually habitats during the two-week-long lunar night that kills solar-powered surface assets and severely limits mission capabilities in permanently shadowed regions (PSRs) at the lunar poles. The lunar night problem is one of the most fundamental challenges for sustained lunar surface operations: the Moon's rotation rate means that most surface locations experience 14 Earth-day-long periods of complete darkness during which solar panels cannot generate power. Landing Chinese Chang'e landers have lost contact during lunar nights; NASA's MSFC studies show that lunar night survival requires either heavy nuclear batteries (RTGs), large thermal energy storage systems, or external power delivery. Volta Space's LightGrid addresses this with orbital power beaming: satellites in near-lunar orbit remain in continuous sunlight (except brief lunar eclipses) and convert solar energy to laser beams directed at photovoltaic receivers on the lunar surface, transmitting power through the vacuum with minimal propagation loss to surface assets that need it. Permanently shadowed craters at the lunar south pole — where NASA's Artemis program and multiple international programs target for human bases due to water ice deposits — receive sunlight only on elevated rim areas, not inside the crater where the ice deposits and future habitats would be located. LightGrid satellites can shine laser power beams into these shadowed craters from orbital positions that maintain line-of-sight to the crater floor, enabling ice mining robots and habitat systems inside PSRs to operate continuously. Volta Space has received early-stage grant funding from NASA (SBIR/STTR programs), ESA (Open Space Innovation Platform), and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), validating the technical approach and mission relevance. The company is backed by MaC Venture Capital and additional investors. Volta Space competes conceptually with space-based solar power (SBSP) proposals (which target Earth rather than the Moon) and nuclear power alternatives like NASA's Fission Surface Power (FSP) program.