239. Space PPAs for satellites - Jul26
Notas del episodio
Laurent and Gerard set out to explore one of the biggest ideas emerging alongside the excitement around the SpaceX IPO: datacenters in space. To refuel those satellites emerged the concept of an orbital grid where beams are directed to provide electricity to space crafts, like a gas station in space.
It may sound like science fiction, but it is rapidly becoming a medium-term engineering challenge being tackled by some of the brightest minds of our generation.
One of those pioneers is Andrew Rush, CEO of Star Catcher, a company building what will become the world's first orbital energy grid—a network of satellites capable of wirelessly transmitting power to other spacecraft on demand hundreds of kilometres away. Andrew is the man for the mission: he previously served on the Technology, Innovation and Engineering Committee of the NASA Advisory Council, helping advise NASA's Administrator, the Office of the Chief Technologist, and its Mission Directorates. Before founding Star Catcher, he successfully built and exited two leading space companies: Redwire and Made-In-Space.
His vision is ambitious: create an "energy-as-a-service" platform for space.
Rather than forcing every satellite to carry increasingly large solar arrays and batteries, spacecraft could draw power from a shared orbital network whenever they need it. If successful, this infrastructure could become as fundamental to the space economy as the electrical grid is on Earth.
Investors are taking notice. Star Catcher has raised approximately $88 million to date, including a recent $65 million Series A led by B Capital, Shield Capital, and Cerberus Ventures. Andrew believes SpaceX's reusable rockets have dramatically reduced the cost of reaching orbit, unleashing an explosion in satellite deployment. The next major bottleneck, however, is no longer launch—it's power. Star Catcher aims to build the energy infrastructure that enables the next generation of space-based industries.
In this conversation, we explore what's real, what's possible, and what's still myth when it comes to energy in space. We also discuss why technologies that once seemed decades away may arrive much sooner than most people expect. The future of the space economy isn't just about getting to orbit—it's about powering everything that comes next.
Live long and prosper.
It may sound like science fiction, but it is rapidly becoming a medium-term engineering challenge being tackled by some of the brightest minds of our generation.
One of those pioneers is Andrew Rush, CEO of Star Catcher, a company building what will become the world's first orbital energy grid—a network of satellites capable of wirelessly transmitting power to other spacecraft on demand hundreds of kilometres away. Andrew is the man for the mission: he previously served on the Technology, Innovation and Engineering Committee of the NASA Advisory Council, helping advise NASA's Administrator, the Office of the Chief Technologist, and its Mission Directorates. Before founding Star Catcher, he successfully built and exited two leading space companies: Redwire and Made-In-Space.
His vision is ambitious: create an "energy-as-a-service" platform for space.
Rather than forcing every satellite to carry increasingly large solar arrays and batteries, spacecraft could draw power from a shared orbital network whenever they need it. If successful, this infrastructure could become as fundamental to the space economy as the electrical grid is on Earth.
Investors are taking notice. Star Catcher has raised approximately $88 million to date, including a recent $65 million Series A led by B Capital, Shield Capital, and Cerberus Ventures. Andrew believes SpaceX's reusable rockets have dramatically reduced the cost of reaching orbit, unleashing an explosion in satellite deployment. The next major bottleneck, however, is no longer launch—it's power. Star Catcher aims to build the energy infrastructure that enables the next generation of space-based industries.
In this conversation, we explore what's real, what's possible, and what's still myth when it comes to energy in space. We also discuss why technologies that once seemed decades away may arrive much sooner than most people expect. The future of the space economy isn't just about getting to orbit—it's about powering everything that comes next.
Live long and prosper.