Oct 7, 2026 · 11 min · 7 segments
What if a power-starved satellite didn’t have to rely entirely on its own solar panels? **Wireless power beaming could eventually turn space itself into an energy network**, transmitting electricity…
Ken ChesterHost
The newest technology out there is called wireless power beaming, and it could give orbital computers up to 10 times more power without solar arrays.
We've talked some about the impact of data centers on planet Earth, and all the nastiness that goes along with them.
Imagine, though, if these companies said, "You know what? Building a land-based data center isn't worth it.
Well, how would you power it? How would you make it operational? Is that even a concept? Short answer, yes, it is, and they figured it out.
US-based, US-based tech sp- space tech firms Starcatcher Industries and Athero have partnered to scale high-performance computing and artificial intelligence in orbit.
Under a power purchase agreement, Athero will draw electricity on demand for Starcatcher's planned orbital energy grid.
The arrangement is designed to let spacecraft access additional power when computing loads rise without having to carry enough onboard generation and storage to cover those peaks.
Who knew? For Athero, which is developing the infrastructure for high-performance computing in orbit, this additional power is aimed at supporting space data centers and content distribution networks that process data closer to where it's generated.
They're talking about all those spacecraft up there, all those satellites gathering all kinds of information.
What if they didn't have to? If they could just instead beam it over to a station in orbit? Less power consumption, number one.
Number two, if Starcatcher can figure out how to generate this power, it's all self-contained.
Concentrates it, and they send this power that they concentrate from the sun directly to the satellite, but in a more concentrated area in a way that gives them 10 times better performance.
Let that sink in a little bit, 'cause, you know, if there's a will, there's a way, and right now, with all the pushback people are getting, yeah, they're looking at, "All right.
Maybe we build them in space." 'Cause oh, yeah, who needs more spacecraft up there? They're gonna need traffic cops up there at this rate.
The newest technology out there is called wireless power beaming, and it could give orbital computers up to 10 times more power without solar arrays.
We've talked some about the impact of data centers on planet Earth, and all the nastiness that goes along with them.
Imagine, though, if these companies said, "You know what? Building a land-based data center isn't worth it.
Well, how would you power it? How would you make it operational? Is that even a concept? Short answer, yes, it is, and they figured it out.
US-based, US-based tech sp- space tech firms Starcatcher Industries and Athero have partnered to scale high-performance computing and artificial intelligence in orbit.
Under a power purchase agreement, Athero will draw electricity on demand for Starcatcher's planned orbital energy grid.
The arrangement is designed to let spacecraft access additional power when computing loads rise without having to carry enough onboard generation and storage to cover those peaks.
Who knew? For Athero, which is developing the infrastructure for high-performance computing in orbit, this additional power is aimed at supporting space data centers and content distribution networks that process data closer to where it's generated.
They're talking about all those spacecraft up there, all those satellites gathering all kinds of information.
What if they didn't have to? If they could just instead beam it over to a station in orbit? Less power consumption, number one.
Number two, if Starcatcher can figure out how to generate this power, it's all self-contained.
Concentrates it, and they send this power that they concentrate from the sun directly to the satellite, but in a more concentrated area in a way that gives them 10 times better performance.
Let that sink in a little bit, 'cause, you know, if there's a will, there's a way, and right now, with all the pushback people are getting, yeah, they're looking at, "All right.
Maybe we build them in space." 'Cause oh, yeah, who needs more spacecraft up there? They're gonna need traffic cops up there at this rate.
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