241 - Maybe the Denver Airport (with Andrew Rush)

In this episode of Off-Nominal, host Jake Robbins celebrates his birthday with guest Andrew Rush, founder of Starcatcher, a company building a power grid in low Earth orbit (LEO) to enable the next industrialization of space. The conversation dives deep into Starcatcher’s mission: using laser-based power beaming from large solar-collecting satellites to deliver concentrated energy to other spacecraft, overcoming the persistent limitations of onboard power generation. Andrew shares how his frustration with power constraints during past ventures—like 3D printing on the International Space Station—spurred the idea. He explains the technology: large Fresnel-lens collectors focus sunlight onto high-efficiency photovoltaics, which power multi-wavelength lasers that beam energy to client satellites, boosting their power output by up to 10x. The system is designed to be backward compatible with existing solar arrays and includes safety protocols to prevent overcharging. With over 40 letters of intent and $60 million in power purchase agreements, Starcatcher is moving from concept to deployment, prioritizing orbits with high customer density like dawn-dusk sun-synchronous orbits. The team is focused on a crawl-walk-run approach, validating tech terrestrially before launching in-space demonstrations. The episode also touches on broader themes: the shift from bespoke spacecraft to shared infrastructure, the future of orbital data centers, and the importance of real-world application over theoretical perfection. Jake and Andrew express genuine excitement about the potential of space power as a foundational utility, likening it to Earth’s power grid.