Star Catcher Industries has concluded its seed round of financing totaling $12.25 million, for the first space power grid for future missions. The round was jointly led by Initialized Capital and B Capital, with participation from Rogue VC. This capital infusion positions the company to mitigate energy constraints in space operations through its Star Catcher Network, the world’s first in-space power grid.
Financing of the space power grid
This network will have the capability to transmit full-spectrum power to spacecraft in low-Earth orbit(LEO) and beyond, providing power levels greater than those currently obtained by spacecraft solar panels. The Star Catcher Network will enable spacecraft to generate 5 to 10 times more power without the need for modernization, thereby improving the efficiency and capabilities of space operations.
The demand for high-performance, power-hungry applications in space, such as space telecommunications, in-orbit computing, remote sensing, human spaceflight and homeland security applications, is constantly growing. Moreover, it is estimated that more than 40,000 satellites will be in low-Earth orbit, requiring about 840 megawatts of power by 2030.
Star Catcher was founded by Andrew Rush and Michael Snyder, two space industry veterans, along with venture capital investor and operator Bryan Lyandvert. Rush, who previously ran Made In Space, has managed multi-million dollar contracts for commercial and government clients. Snyder, a leading space technologist, holds more than 50 patents and has sent multiple payloads into space. In addition, Lyandvert, who has extensive experience in technology investments, has worked with companies such as Amazon and MetaProp Ventures.
The new space energy era
According to Andrew Rush, co-founder and CEO of Star Catcher, energy infrastructure is fundamental to civilization and industry. The Star Catcher Network will enable the purchase of space power on demand, expanding opportunities in low-Earth orbits and accelerating progress toward the second golden age of space.
The company has made technical advances in the development of its constellation and has secured letters of intent from a number of commercial companies in sectors such as remote sensing, homeland security and telecommunications. Initialized Capital principal Andrew Sather says Star Catcher has the potential to transform the space economy, just as SpaceX did with launches.
B Capital president Howard Morgan says the Star Catcher Network is a technology with transformative potential. With satellite launch costs decreasing and energy needs increasing, the Star Catcher Network will enable space energy demand to be met, overcoming the current limitations of solar panels and batteries.
With the funding obtained, Star Catcher will focus on validating and demonstrating its energy and demonstrate its power transmission services to customers. services for customers. The first demonstrations will be conducted on the ground, followed by an in-orbit demonstration in late 2025, and deployment of the commercial service. Once implemented, this infrastructure will allow satellite operators to adopt a shared infrastructure approach, where power consumption will not be limited by the capacity of individual satellites.
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Source and photo: Star Catcher
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