Overview Energy wins US military contract for space-solar beacon

(SpaceEnergy) Overview Energy has won a US military contract to design, build and test ground beacon hardware enabling its satellites to authenticate receiving sites and precisely direct space-based solar power.

The Operational Energy Capability Improvement Fund awarded the contract for a homing beacon that ground crews would install at receiver sites. Overview said a satellite must detect an active, authenticated beacon before transmitting energy, providing protection against spoofing or unauthorised redirection.

Overview’s proposed satellites would collect solar energy in geosynchronous orbit, convert it into near-infrared light and transmit it to terrestrial receivers, including existing utility-scale solar infrastructure.

The OECIF programme will involve engagement with military users at operational sites to establish requirements, followed by field testing of beacon hardware and user feedback.

Overview co-chief executive Darko Filipi said the award would allow the company to build operational hardware following earlier airborne demonstrations of its tracking and pointing technology.

Hardware developed under the contract is intended to be integrated into Overview’s first satellite for a space-solar demonstration scheduled for 2028. The company said the beacon would also provide baseline ground hardware for a geosynchronous-orbit constellation whose deployment is planned to start in 2030.