🛰️ Startup successfully transmits solar energy with laser from aircraft – a step toward space-based solar power

• Overview Energy has tested transmitting thousands of watts from an aircraft to a ground-based receiver using near-infrared laser light.
• The company plans to launch a demonstration satellite in low Earth orbit in 2028 and operational satellites in geosynchronous orbit as early as 2030.
• The technology makes it possible to deliver solar energy to existing ground-based solar facilities when the sun is not shining.

Successful flight test at five kilometers altitude

The American startup Overview Energy has conducted a test where they transmitted power from an aircraft at 5,000 meters altitude to a receiver on the ground. The test used near-infrared laser light to send thousands of watts of power. On the ground, the laser light was converted into electricity.

The company's founder and CEO Marc Berte describes the test as an integrated system test of all components. The tracking and guidance methodology is the same as will be used in space.

A different approach than previous concepts

Space-based solar power has been discussed for over 50 years. Overview Energy uses a different method than many previous proposals. Instead of microwaves, the company uses near-infrared laser light. This allows the transmission antenna on the spacecraft to be reduced from hundreds of meters to about half a meter.

The laser is low intensity. This means it is safe to stand in the beam. Being in the beam in daylight is roughly equivalent to being on a white sand beach or in snow on a sunny day.

The company plans to send the power to existing solar facilities on Earth. These facilities can then generate electricity even when the sun is not shining locally.

Network of receivers solves the cloud problem

The near-infrared laser light cannot penetrate clouds. The company plans to work with a network of receivers at different locations. This way, one or more receivers are likely to always be available.

Satellite plans for 2028 and 2030

Overview Energy has booked a slot on the SpaceX Bandwagon-7 mission launching in early 2028. A demonstration satellite in low Earth orbit will then be tested. The satellite will use the same type of laser and optics as the flight test.

After the demonstration in low Earth orbit, the company plans to place operational spacecraft in geosynchronous orbit. The first could launch as early as 2030. Each spacecraft will deliver at least one megawatt of electricity using large deployable solar arrays.

The spacecraft are designed to be about twice as massive as today's large commercial communications satellites in geosynchronous orbit. They can be launched on several different types of rockets.

Mass production over large-scale satellites

The company plans to mass-produce spacecraft instead of making individual spacecraft larger. Berte refers to how Starlink and other mega-constellations have shown that mass production is often more economically advantageous than scaling up individual units.

Former NASA Administrator Mike Griffin, who now advises the company, has stated that this is the first concept for space-based solar energy in 48 years that he believes could work.

Company background

Marc Berte began working on the concept in 2017. The company started in 2021 within Vast, a space company founded by billionaire Jed McCaleb. When Vast chose to focus on commercial space stations, Overview Energy became a separate company.

Since then, Overview Energy has raised nearly 20 million dollars in two investment rounds. The company is headquartered in Ashburn, Virginia, and has approximately 25 employees.

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