How Our Airborne Demo Brings Space Solar Energy Into Reality
Space solar energy can sound like something far off in the future: satellites in orbit, precision optics, lasers delivering energy to Earth. But we’ve changed that.
In November 2025, we achieved a world first in power beaming: transmitting power from a moving airplane to solar panels on the ground, across a distance of more than 5,000 meters.
It is the first demonstration of high-power wireless power transfer from any moving platform, ever. And we did it with the same systems we’ll be taking to space. This demonstration is the final validation step before moving our system off Earth, and it means we’ve already proven the hardest parts of this technology.
What the airborne demonstration actually was
Our team installed Overview’s laser and optical systems on a Cessna Caravan and flew at an altitude of over 5,000 m (16,500 ft). On the ground, we installed a receiver of standard solar panels, the same kind used in utility-scale projects or homes.
As the aircraft flew overhead, the system identified the receiver, locked onto it, and delivered power through an eye-safe beam. The panels converted that light into electricity in the same way they convert sunlight.
We took the fundamental systems we’ll be using in orbit, put them on a moving platform, and asked everything to perform with the precision required for space. And it worked.
Why this milestone matters
1. It shows the core technical pieces play well together in the real world
We set out to tackle the hardest parts of space solar energy, and prove each component could be integrated together. We moved our lasers out of the lab and into the real world, and paired them with optics built for aiming in real-world conditions (and aiming from an airplane is even harder than from a satellite, since an airplane (i) experiences turbulence and (ii) has a higher angular velocity relative to the ground site). The technical challenges we overcame give us confidence as we move on to our LEO Pilot demonstration – we’ve already proven we can handle the hard parts.
2. It completes the “proof of concept” phase of our roadmap
Our development plan has three stages: crawl, walk, run.
Proof of concept: Completed with our airborne demonstration
Pilot: A low Earth orbit (LEO) pilot in 2028 that demonstrates the full system in space
First of a kind: Our first geosynchronous orbit (GEO) satellites in 2029-2030, where they will see the sun ~99% of the time
The jump from aircraft to orbit may sound dramatic. It isn’t. The optics chain, the lasers, the tracking, the receiver physics—the hard parts are the same. What changes is altitude.
A first proof point in a larger journey
This airborne milestone is the first demonstration in the field that reflects how a commercial system will operate IRL. Over time, these systems will create a new layer of energy infrastructure, positioned above the grid and complementing what exists on the ground.
With airborne validation complete, we look upward. This milestone doesn’t mark the finish line. It marks the moment when the idea of space solar energy becomes more tangible. The core elements work. The safety holds. The next steps are clear.
Space offers constant sunlight. Now we’re learning how to bring that sunlight home to our grid in a controlled, predictable way.
