Beaming Sunshine from Space: Caltech’s Wild Experiment
Technology is moving so fast that half the time it feels like we’re living in a sci-fi trailer.
Case in point: I recently went down a rabbit hole on space-based solar power—collecting sunlight in orbit and beaming it down to Earth. Not metaphorically. Literally. My first reaction was: Is this real… or just another excuse for billionaires to play rocket Legos?
Turns out it’s real—just with enough caveats to fill a black hole. Still, it was too interesting to keep to myself, so here’s the breakdown, plus a few investing angles (spoiler: mostly indirect, because the direct plays are about as available as affordable housing in San Francisco).
The Caltech proof-of-concept (yes, this actually happened)
The standout story is Caltech’s Space Solar Power Demonstrator—SSPD-1.
It launched in January 2023 on a SpaceX Falcon 9. Whatever you think of Elon personally, he’s sitting in the epicenter of a lot of meaningful technology shifts, and this was one of them. SSPD-1 was a small (about 50 kilograms) experiment designed to test the core idea:
- Collect solar energy in space (no clouds, no nighttime, no “winter output” excuses)
- Convert it into microwaves
- Beam it down to a receiver on Earth
In May 2023, they detected a signal on a rooftop receiver at Caltech in Pasadena. The power was tiny—milliwatts, not “charge your phone” territory—but it’s still a big deal because it’s proof the plumbing works.
The long-term pitch is that orbiting solar could generate far more consistent output than ground-based solar—potentially multiples higher—and beam it down via non-ionizing microwaves to big receiver arrays on Earth. “Safely,” they swear.
The “cool acronyms” section (because of course there are acronyms)
Caltech’s demo included a few major components:
- MAPLE — a microwave array that can steer the beam electronically without moving parts. (Because if you can remove mechanics in space, you do it. Space is not known for being forgiving.)
- DOLCE — deployable structures that unfold like origami so you can get large surface area without launching something the size of a shopping mall.
- ALBA — testing different solar cells and how they handle space conditions (radiation, temperature swings, the general unpleasantness of orbit).
The mission wrapped in 2024 after about a year of orbiting and surviving wild temperature shifts (down around -140°C and up around +80°C). That part alone is impressive.
This effort was supported by major funding—philanthropist Donald Bren (over $100 million) and Northrop Grumman, among others—helping turn a 1960s sci-fi concept into something tangible.
Reality check: we’re early (Wright brothers early)
This is still the Wright brothers phase. Cool flight. Not booking a transatlantic ticket yet.
A few big hurdles:
- Efficiency was reportedly around 1–2% in early demonstrations (translation: this is not ready for prime time).
- Scaling to meaningful power levels means launching a lot of hardware. Think fleets of satellites.
- Beam precision and safety are non-negotiable. Miss your receiver and you’re “toasting the wrong zip code.”
- And yes, my brain also went to: What happens if this beam goes rogue and microwaves a flock of birds mid-migration?
At least during a blackout, your popcorn would pop itself.
It’s not just Caltech: Japan, the Navy, and DARPA are in the mix
Japan has skin in the game too with the OHISAMA project—reportedly a 180-kg satellite planned for 2025 aiming to beam around 1 kW over about 40 km. Ground tests have been encouraging; orbital results are still the “we’ll see” phase—kind of like a Yelp review for a fusion restaurant.
In the U.S., there’s also been work like the Naval Research Lab’s PRAM (2020) and DARPA demonstrations, including a reported 800W power beaming demo in 2025. These are all baby steps toward a world where energy could be delivered to remote islands, disaster zones, forward operating bases—or your off-grid cabin without hauling diesel.
The vision is simple: no pipelines, no tankers, no geography advantage—just point a receiver dish at the sky.
So… is this investable?
Not directly. Not yet.
Space-based solar power is pre-commercial. Think “pre-IPO Tesla,” but with more vacuum and fewer memes. There are no pure-play public stocks that let you buy “space solar” the way you can buy terrestrial solar.
Most of the action is in private startups and R&D budgets:
- Aetherflux (founded by Robinhood’s Baiju Bhatt) has raised $60M+ and is working on laser-based power beaming concepts, with a target demo around 2026, focusing on defense and data center use cases. Because nothing says “practical” like powering drones and AI compute from orbit.
- Virtus Solis is exploring modular approaches and testing concepts (often discussed with timelines around 2027).
- Reflect Orbital takes a “cheat code” approach—reflecting sunlight to ground-based solar after dark. Clever, though I assume astronomers are already sharpening knives.
And yes, SpaceX may ultimately be the most leveraged “picks and shovels” player here. There’s been talk of a potential public path in 2026, though that’s still rumor-adjacent.
If you want exposure, the realistic route is indirect:
- Launch and space infrastructure: Rocket Lab (RKLB) and other space ecosystem players
- Defense/aerospace primes: Northrop Grumman (NOC) and peers—where contracts and R&D can quietly become meaningful
- Terrestrial solar and renewables: First Solar (FSLR) and utilities like NextEra (NEE) could benefit from the broader “clean power buildout” narrative, even if space solar takes longer than advertised
And because I love a bad pun: the risks here are sky-high. Startups can flame out, regulation will lag, and costs can balloon. Investing in SBSP right now is a little like betting on fusion—always “20 years away,” and your portfolio might evaporate before the power beams down.
Bottom line
This could be world-changing: constant clean energy, fewer storage constraints, and a potential solution for powering the next wave of compute-heavy infrastructure. But today it’s still speculative tech—high upside if it hits, and a black hole if it doesn’t.
We’ve proven it’s possible. Now the boss level is scaling.
If this sparks your inner investor—or your inner sci-fi nerd—reach out. Call me at 661-302-4531 or email me at Jeremiah.Bauman@LPL.com and we’ll talk through what’s real, what’s hype, and where the investable opportunities might actually show up.
Worst case, we’ll just beam a few good ideas around.
The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual.
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