Our Mission: To create the landscape and conditions for commercial Space-Based Solar Power technology by the U.S. to become successful and self-sustaining.

Space Frontier Foundation Updates

• Alliance for Space Development's space policy advocacy event, March Storm, is currently taking place on Capitol Hill, and SSP is on the agenda. It started this past Monday (3/3), and its final day will be tomorrow (3/5).
• SFF advocates have developed language that would be incorporated into the National Defense Authorization Act of 2025 that would help to advance Space Solar Power.

Notable News

• Grants for wireless power-beaming: Space-Space power beaming startup Star Catcher has recently received funding from the Air Force as part of the AFWERX Small Business Innovation Research Phase 1 to develop space-to-space power beaming for LEO constellation. In addition, Aetherflux has been awarded Operational Energy Capability Improvement Fund (OECIF) funding for their project AETHER, to further develop power-beaming for SSP. Another recent recipient of OECIF funding is Reach, which has been awarded for their Persistent Unattended Ground Sensors project. As OECIF is a key energy investment program within the Department of Defense, their support of these projects is essential in advancing power beaming to enable efficient energy transfer from space to Earth.
• Orbital tests of in-orbit construction: DARPA has recently announced that projects as part of their NOM4D program will be tested in-orbit, instead of a laboratory setting as planned originally. Projects that are slated to be tested next year include Caltech and Momentus' autonomous robotic assembly of a circular truss and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Voyager Space's high-precision composite-forming process in space. As satellites are increasingly going modular, these technologies' growth is vital for SSP development.
• A secondary SSP benefit: John Bucknell, Virtus Solis CEO, has published a paper on how SSP can direct energy towards water bodies, thereby manipulating cloud cover. He posits that through this, SSP could contribute to climate cooling and to return the atmosphere carbon back to pre-industrial levels.
• A peek at Space Force's hidden project: A Space Force spaceplane, the X-37B demonstrator, in 2020, housed the Naval Research Laboratory's Photovoltaic Radio-frequency Antenna Module Flight Experiment (PRAM FX). Their tests of power-beaming technology for their satellite network were successful. However, the current status of PFAM FX and the experiments aboard X-37B are unclear. This new picture released by the Space Force could reveal more insights about this spaceplane.
• China's lunar power beaming ambitions: Alongside their plans to construct a 1-km wide solar power station in space, China has also set its sights on power beaming to lunar rovers, such as the upcoming Chang'e-7 and 8 missions as well as the future International Lunar Research Station. Power beaming to the moon is critical for expanding and extending human operations, particularly with the rise of missions to the lunar south pole.

Upcoming Events

• Sam Adlen, Space Solar CEO, will share his insights on overcoming financial barriers to SSP in a fireside chat with SPACETalks in Didcot (UK), on February 26. He will also be a speaker at CERA Week, an energy conference, in Houston, TX on March 12.
• At the upcoming Satellite's GovMilSpace Conference on March 13, Karen Jones of The Aerospace Corporation will be leading a panel of experts, which includes Dr. Paul Jaffe (DARPA), Erica Rodgers (NASA), Martin Soltau (Space Solar), and Ed Tate (Virtus Solis) on "Space Solar Power (SSP): How an US and Global Allies Invest and Participate?"

Outsiders' Perspectives

• Space Solar has won Orbital Today's Award for Best Space Startup of the Year, citing their deal with Reykjavik Energy. The awards were selected based on voting by Orbital Today's staff and other industry and business leaders. This recognition is a key milestone towards wider industry and public belief in SSP as "not just science-fiction."
• Aerospace America's feature article, written by Paul Marks, is in conversation with Paolo Pino, CTO and co-founder of Volta. Pino describes the pressing need for power-beaming for lunar rovers, as all three landers from the past year perishing in the lunar night. He discusses Volta's recent power-beaming demonstration and their plans for LightGrid (their satellite) and LightPort (the receiver), starting with a minimum vialable constellation of three satellites.
• Kaiser Kuo, of World Economic Forum, lists SSP as one of 12 transformative technologies that will shape the future of the space industry. He cites the JAXA and Caltech's power-beaming tests last year as indications that SSP will soon become viable.

Experts and Advocates on SBSP

• In a recent podcast with Morgan Brennan of CNBC, Baiju Bhatt, Aetherflux co-founder, discusses his company's approach to SSP, the underlying technology, and how they are working towards their project demonstration next year.
• Ed Tate and David Berger represented Virtus Solis at a seminar hosted by The Office of Space Commerce and National Institute of Standards and Technology in Washington, DC. They shared their vision on how large orbital assets can massively contribute to the circular economy through recycling, with a special emphasis on SSP.
• Onur Çelik, of University of Glasgow's SOLSPACE project, published a paper proposing a constellation design of orbital solar reflectors (OSRs) to enhance SSP. Another recent paper from SOLSPACE researcher Temitayo Oderinwale discusses the economic benefits to SSP from utilizing OSRs. Andrea Viale, also a SOLSPACE researcher, has made a video depicting SSP mechanisms. SOLSPACE's efforts to raise awareness of SSP's viability, both for the scientific community and the general public are crucial for driving widespread adoption.
• Hyuna Kang et al. of Yonsei University and Hong Kong Polytechnic University published a paper analyzing SSP's feasibility and potential for integration into smart grids of the future. A similar study on SSP's feasibility and how it will work with existing power grids was conducted by Khandoker Shahjahan Alam et al. of Rajshahi University of Engineering & Technology, Bangladesh.

Myth: The loss of energy during transmission of Space Solar Power makes it unviable

Fact: Loss of energy between transmissions is inherent to any technology, and thus it cannot be avoided. However, the amount of energy that can be harvested from orbital solar panels is so great that even if 85-90% of energy is lost in transmission, the energy that does make it to Earth can make it a viable and competitive energy solution, as studies have shown. In the early years of SSP development and implementation, cost efficiency is more important than energy efficiency. Even so, researchers are working to improve efficiency of this technology, particularly, through power radio frequency amplification and more efficient and lightweight photovoltaic panels. Find more information from ESA.