Real-time space weather forecaster Mission Space and orbital power provider Star Catcher Industries have entered into a partnership.
The companies plan to upgrade real-time outer space weather monitoring and orbital power solutions, they announced in an April 23 news release.
The collaboration combines Mission Space’s space weather forecasting technology with Star Catcher’s orbital power grid to address spacecraft power constraints.
Under the agreement, Mission Space will provide real-time space weather data and predictive models to support the Star Catcher Network, which will supply additional power to Mission Space’s satellites.
Mission Space is based in Miami. Star Catcher is based in Jacksonville.
“Integrating Mission Space’s expertise in space weather forecasting strengthens our ability to deliver reliable power to spacecraft, even during extreme solar events,” Star Catcher CEO Andrew Rush said in the release. “This better positions us to meet the rapidly growing power demands of modern space missions — enabling more ambitious payloads, extended operations and entirely new classes of capability in orbit.”
Mission Space’s forecasting system is built around Zohar, a space weather communication platform with technologies that captures cosmic rays in real time. The data supports multi-point feeds into the company’s forecasting platform to improve accuracy in low Earth orbit.
Star Catcher specializes in spacecraft-to-spacecraft power transfer through its energy grid of satellites that harness solar rays. It completed the first test of its power-beaming technology March 19 at EverBank Stadium. Power is purchased in credits, not by subscription.
“This partnership ensures our constellation will not only perform better but also remain resilient under the most challenging conditions,” Mission Space CEO Mary Glazkova said.
According to the release, “Space may not have rain or clouds, but it does have storms — and they can wreak havoc on satellites. With reliable energy from Star Catcher and advanced forecasting from Mission Space, satellite operators can extend mission uptime, proactively respond to space weather events, adapt in real time and unlock new levels of performance in orbit.”