Starpath bets on solar energy produced by space

Ask the CEO of Starpath, Sarav, his reflections on the spatial priorities of America and he will say that we are “an order of magnitude high at the cost and an order of magnitude at low ambition”.

Starpath’s response, at least in the problem, is the power of an ultra-faible cost space, which is generated by solar panels.

Starpath’s new classified solar panels launched sales in the United States on September 25 with an argument for the rise in eyebrows. The company claims that its solar panels, called “Starlight”, are at the price of approximately 10 times cheaper than the typical industry prices from $ 7 to 250 per Watt, about a reduction in costs by 90% compared to the status quo.

There will be two levels of product at launch, an “engineering model” and a “flight model”. The engineering model is at a price of $ 9.81 per Watt, with the shipment from the second week of October. This model involves a rationalized test process, but is not classified in flight, which makes it suitable for prototyping, laboratory use and the construction of a satellite before launch, said a Starpath representative.

The flight model, designed for use in space, is $ 11.20 per Watt and should be shipped to the fourth quarter of this year.

The startup indicates that the reduction in strong costs comes in part from the construction of its own automated production chain.

This production process – The details of whichpath is largely private – is designed to considerably increase the flow. By next year, the startup claims that its line could produce more than the rest of the global solar energy supply evaluated in the combined space, with sufficient capacity to serve each satellite made on earth.

“It is a victory for humanity if our solar panels are available commercially for the entire space industry at a price at 90% cheaper than what you can get today,” said Shroff. The signs “will not be made on order … they will be stored.” Shipping times will be as short as three weeks at the customer’s door, and only three days from December. It is a spectacular reduction compared to the head hours of five to 14 months today, says Starpath.

The new range of products was born from the broader Starpath ambition: Terraform The Solar System, starting with the Moon and Mars. When the team evaluated power for a serious lunar base, “the current solar solutions were not economically viable,” said Shroff. “You would literally consider spending more than GDP around the world on solar energy” to scale the economy of the satellite chain today.

“The economy in a way of work for the satellite industry,” he said. “They are very expensive, but they do not work to build a city on Mars.”

It prompted Starpath to design its own product and processes. Shroff says that low prices mean “for a several million dollars satellite … It will only cost you $ 100,000 to get the electrical system.”

Starpath’s roadmap is aggressive. Shroff said the underlying production system is designed to evolve quickly. “If the request provided for it”, the company could evolve at more than 40 gigawatts “in a year,” he said.

Without appointing names, Shroff said that companies are interested in creating requests for a low terrestrial orbit which require a lot of power.

Selling signs, he argued, does not distract the main mission of Starpath. Instead, he monetizes a capacity that the company had to build anyway. Shroff stressed that Starpath will be the consumer of around 98% of his own production, using the vast majority of his own panels for his infrastructure outside the world.

“We think people should dream bigger,” he said. “Everyone should watch carefully, especially NASA, to their goals, and wonder if they dream quite big.”