Star Catcher completes on-orbit precision acquisition and tracking demonstration
In late 2025, Star Catcher completed Sextant Alpha — our first flight heritage mission and a major milestone in building the first power grid in space. The mission successfully demonstrated our proprietary spacecraft acquisition and tracking software on-orbit at distances representative of commercial power beaming operations.
The Star Catcher Network delivers power wirelessly to client satellites with seamless compatibility across existing satellite systems, enabling up to 10x more power generation than onboard systems alone. The grid works by collecting and concentrating diffuse sunlight, refining it into wavelengths optimized for standard satellite solar panels, and beaming it precisely to client satellites.
Flying aboard Loft Orbital's virtual mission infrastructure, Sextant Alpha validated the key precision tracking and pointing capabilities that underpin our orbital power grid’s wireless energy transmission. Sextant Alpha is one of three major demonstrations Star Catcher completed in 2025, proving each core pillar of our technology stack:
Sunlight collection and concentration via lightweight, low-cost Fresnel lenses
Record-breaking wireless power transmission to commercial off-the-shelf single- and triple-junction solar panels commonly used in space
Precision spacecraft tracking and pointing using on-orbit software to ingest telemetry of two spacecraft and control spacecraft attitude
After a year of intensive ground and in-space technology development, validating energy harvesting, tracking, and transmission, Star Catcher is now focused on demonstrating full-system functionality in orbit. The team is taking a deliberate hardware-rich, crawl-walk-run approach to validate the ownership of our tech stack in space, working towards the first commercial light in space.
As we move at an unprecedented pace to meet the demands of our commercial and national security clients, we are pushing the boundaries of optical power beaming, building in-house systems where the technology doesn’t yet exist or lagging the necessary growth, and leveraging commercial off-the-shelf components to reduce cost and accelerate timelines where possible.
Bonus: What’s in the name ‘Sextant Alpha’
The mission name draws from a long tradition of navigation tools that enabled reliable travel across the oceans and supported critical global infrastructure like shipping. For centuries, sextants helped sailors navigate by measuring angles to the stars.
Star Catcher is building on this tradition of navigation, as humanity begins its next journey outward. Our tracking software measures the geometry between spacecraft to guide precise pointing in orbit, enabling an orbital energy grid that delivers extra power to spacecraft through wireless power beaming.
About Star Catcher
Star Catcher is building the first power grid in space — beaming concentrated solar energy on demand to satellites in orbit. By eliminating power as a constraint on spacecraft design and mission capability, Star Catcher is unlocking a new generation of space operations for commercial, civil, and national security customers. Learn more at www.star-catcher.com.
Media Contacts
Camille Bergin, CMO
Karen Sorenson