Power grid agreement to supply energy for Loft Orbital satellites

by Clarence Oxford
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Dec 09, 2025
Loft Orbital and Star Catcher Industries have signed what is described as one of the first commercial energy purchase agreements for space operations. The deal allows Loft to buy power from Star Catcher's planned orbital energy grid to support its mission-agnostic satellite platforms in low Earth orbit, enabling dynamic growth in their satellite constellations.

Loft's approach provides a turnkey deployment for a variety of customer payloads onboard high-power satellites. As payload demands increase - particularly in data-rich and computation-intensive missions - the need for scalable and flexible energy sources becomes critical. The agreement lets Loft draw energy on demand from Star Catcher's forthcoming network, boosting the capacity to host advanced customer instruments and to maintain uninterrupted mission operations.

The Star Catcher Network uses modular Power Nodes that collect solar energy via advanced optical systems. These nodes concentrate and refine solar power into wavelengths that are optimal for commercial spacecraft solar panels. Energy is then wirelessly transmitted as concentrated beams, upgrading the available power for satellites by two to ten times, without requiring any hardware retrofit.

According to Loft COO Alex Greenberg, "Plugging into an external power source fundamentally changes how we think about our mission offering. It boosts uptime for our customers' payloads and processors, optimizes spacecraft performance, and ensures our constellation operates at full capacity." The shift allows Loft to support new, high-demand payloads in fields such as real-time Earth observation, direct-to-cell communications, and secure national defense operations.

Star Catcher CEO Andrew Rush noted, "A readily available utility-scale power grid in space is a capability the entire industry needed yesterday. We are proud to partner with Loft. Providing Loft with on-demand power allows them to focus on mission performance rather than power limitations, a critical paradigm shift for the future of space operations." The network eliminates power constraints and reduces costs by enabling smaller satellites to handle bigger missions.

Loft's satellites leverage off-the-shelf bus inventory for rapid deployment, enabling launches in months rather than years. With more than 25 missions flown, and the establishment of Orbitworks - a Middle East joint venture - Loft continues expanding global reach and infrastructure capabilities for commercial, government, and research customers.

Star Catcher, founded in 2024, aims to pioneer space-to-space power beaming, removing constraints for satellites and other spacecraft by providing a dedicated orbital energy grid.