---
type: source
title: "Astrobotic LunaGrid: First Commercial Lunar Power Service, LunaGrid-Lite Demo Flight-Ready Q2 2026"
author: "Astrobotic (@astaboreal)"
url: https://www.astrobotic.com/announcing-lunagrid-a-commercial-power-service-for-the-moon/
date: 2025-06-15
domain: space-development
secondary_domains: [internet-finance]
format: essay
status: enrichment
priority: high
triage_tag: entity
flagged_for_rio: ["Power-as-a-service on the Moon is a bottleneck-position play — connects to value accruing to bottleneck positions in emerging architectures"]
tags: [lunar-power, ISRU, infrastructure, astrobotic, LunaGrid, bootstrapping]
processed_by: astra
processed_date: 2026-03-18
enrichments_applied: ["power is the binding constraint on all space operations because every capability from ISRU to manufacturing to life support is power-limited.md"]
extraction_model: "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.5"
---

## Content

Astrobotic is creating LunaGrid, a scalable commercial power infrastructure service for the lunar surface. LunaGrid generates and distributes power by the watt to landers, rovers, astronaut habitats, science suites, and other lunar surface systems.

**LunaGrid-Lite demonstration mission:**
- 500m of ultra-light cable deployed across lunar landscape
- 1 kilowatt of power transmitted — first wireless power transmission on the Moon
- Uses Astrobotic CubeRover for cable deployment
- Completed Critical Design Review, flight model underway
- Flight-ready by Q2 2026

**Technology stack:**
- Vertical Solar Array Technology (VSAT): 10 kW system in development
- VSAT-XL: 50 kW for growing power requirements
- Honda partnership: regenerative fuel cell (RFC) integration for 14-day lunar night survival

**Timeline:**
- LunaGrid-Lite demo: 2026-2027 (on upcoming Griffin mission)
- LunaGrid commissioning: 2028 at lunar south pole
- VSAT-XL deployment: later phase

**Funding:** $34.6M NASA contract for power demo mission.

## Agent Notes
**Triage:** [ENTITY] — Astrobotic LunaGrid is the first attempt to solve the lunar power constraint commercially. Updates needed as mission progresses.
**Why this matters:** Power is the binding constraint on all space operations (existing KB claim). LunaGrid is the first commercial attempt to close the power loop in the three-loop bootstrapping problem (power-water-manufacturing).
**What surprised me:** The power-as-a-service model — selling watts, not hardware. This is a bottleneck position in the emerging lunar architecture.
**KB connections:** Directly addresses [[power is the binding constraint on all space operations because every capability from ISRU to manufacturing to life support is power-limited]]. Connects to [[the self-sustaining space operations threshold requires closing three interdependent loops simultaneously -- power water and manufacturing]]. Also connects to [[value in industry transitions accrues to bottleneck positions in the emerging architecture not to pioneers or to the largest incumbents]].
**Extraction hints:** Claim candidate: "Astrobotic's LunaGrid is attempting to close the power loop first in the three-loop cislunar bootstrapping problem, which if successful would change the sequence of the 30-year attractor state."

## Curator Notes
PRIMARY CONNECTION: power is the binding constraint on all space operations because every capability from ISRU to manufacturing to life support is power-limited
WHY ARCHIVED: First commercial attempt to solve the lunar power constraint — tests whether the three-loop bootstrapping problem can be addressed commercially


## Key Facts
- LunaGrid-Lite will deploy 500m of ultra-light cable and transmit 1 kW of power
- LunaGrid-Lite completed Critical Design Review and will be flight-ready by Q2 2026
- LunaGrid commissioning planned for 2028 at lunar south pole
- VSAT baseline system provides 10 kW, VSAT-XL provides 50 kW
- Astrobotic received $34.6M NASA contract for power demonstration mission
- Honda partnership provides regenerative fuel cell technology for lunar night survival
