The Upstarts Podcast Star Catcher’s Andrew Rush: Harnessing The Sun To Build The First Energy Grid In Space
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Mar 19, 2026 Andrew Rush, co-founder and CEO of Starcatcher Industries and former Made In Space executive, aims to build an orbital power grid. He discusses space’s chronic power shortages, how beaming concentrated sunlight can boost satellite arrays, and the technical and financing milestones that turned stadium and NASA tests into momentum for a bold space infrastructure vision.
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Space Missions Are Constrained By A Camping Trip Mindset
- Space operations are power-limited because satellites 'bring their solar rays' and must run on batteries during eclipse.
- Andrew Rush says this camping-trip model forces lower uptime and smaller payload capability versus terrestrial expectations.
3D Printer Had To Be Power-Slashed For The ISS
- Made In Space printers required huge power on Earth but were limited to 400 watts on the ISS, so the team had to cut a 2,000 watt design down dramatically.
- Rush recounts contemplating turning the printer off mid-print due to satellite power limits, illustrating real mission tradeoffs.
Satellite Mass Is Mostly Solar Arrays
- Most of a typical satellite's visible mass is solar arrays because you need roughly one square meter per 400–500 watts of collection.
- Rush compares the ISS panels to a football field to show how much area is devoted to power generation.
