A New Mexico startup revealed its plans to deliver sunlight to satellites in orbit, helping power the spacecraft during times when they are hidden by Earth’s shadow.
Mantis Space emerged from stealth on Thursday with $10 million in seed funding, money it will use towards developing a constellation of satellites designed to power solar arrays in space, SpaceNews reported. The company is looking to fly satellites with large solar arrays at a higher altitude and use laser beams to deliver energy to satellites operating in the dark.
Lights out
Satellites are primarily powered by solar panels that rely on sunlight. As the spacecraft travel along their orbit, however, they run into a power-generating problem.
Satellites spend around a third of the time in Earth’s shadow, hidden from the Sun’s light. As a result, their power is supplemented by lithium-ion batteries. Mantis Space’s solution would help provide sunlight to satellites even in the shadows, allowing them to ditch heavy battery banks and large solar arrays.
Laser beam sunlight
The company envisions designing a constellation to deliver power to customer satellites. Using military-grade lasers, Mantis Space aims to generate beams of light at a wavelength optimized for power generation, according to Payload.
Mantis Space’s constellation will collect sunlight with their own solar arrays and send the energy toward satellites via laser beams. The company promises to deliver energy that’s 20% to 30% more efficient than the light from the Sun, CEO Eric Truitt told Payload.
Truitt is aiming to launch the company’s prototype payload in 2028, with as many as four laser beams per satellite. Mantis is hoping to ramp up its constellation to eventually provide power to as many as 40 satellites at a time.
While other space startups are concerned with launching more spacecraft into orbit, Mantis is looking to enhance the performance of the satellites already in space by plugging them into a constant power source.
Related story: Scientists Successfully Transmit Space-Based Solar Power to Earth for the First Time
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