Mantis Space, a private space technology startup focused on advanced infrastructure solutions, has emerged from stealth with an oversubscribed seed round of US$10 million. The company, which is based in Albuquerque, MS, USA, develops laser-based power delivery for spacecraft. It says the new funding will help build orbital infrastructure designed to address one of the most basic problems in satellite operations: the loss of solar power when spacecraft travel into Earth’s shadow.

The funding round was led by Rule 1 Ventures and Montauk Capital. Mantis says the money will be used for hiring and to support business growth at its headquarters. Eric Truitt, Mantis CEO and co-founder, described the company’s work as “the beginning of a space infrastructure supercycle”, reasoning that launch and manufacturing capacity have scaled significantly, while in-orbit performance remains limited by power availability.

Mantis plans to build an orbital power-beaming network for satellites in low orbit around the Earth. Its goal is to create a kind of “space grid” in which satellites that operate in nearly continuous sunlight for most of their orbit transmit power by laser to customer spacecraft that are temporarily in eclipse.

The orbital economy now exceeds $600 billion and is projected to approach $1 trillion by 2040.

When spacecraft travel behind Earth, they lose direct exposure to sunlight and rely on batteries they carry on board. Mantis’ optical system addresses this operational bottleneck, which is a persistent one when it comes to operating satellites. Their setup would deliver additional power directly to satellites’ existing solar arrays, allowing them to receive energy in real time instead of having to draw from stored battery power. 

The startup argues that their technology could reduce dependence on batteries, which affects battery mass and spacecraft design, extend spacecraft lifetime and allow operators to favor preferable orbital positions instead of maximizing solar exposure. Today, satellite operators prioritize trajectories that maximise exposure to the sun rather than those best suited to the mission. Mantis estimates that spacecraft in low Earth orbit routinely spend nearly one third of their time in darkness and that the repeated power interruptions can impact performance and return on investment.

The company argues that wireless optical power delivery could change that fate for a range of space objects, including communication satellites, defense systems, space stations and more. The orbital economy now exceeds $600 billion and is projected to approach $1 trillion by 2040, according to PR Newswire. For the optics community, this development pushes optics beyond traditional roles in communications and sensing and into the field of in-space power infrastructure.