Albuquerque Business First – Strategic partnership agreement with Momentus Space

Solstar Space Company recently announced a strategic partnership agreement with Momentus Space that allows the two companies to work together to enable on-demand connectivity for objects in orbit.

Momentus (NASDAQ: MNTS), based in San Jose, California, makes small satellites, satellite components and provides service with orbital transfer vehicles to both deliver other satellites to precision orbits and to host payloads, according to CEO John Rood.

Utilizing a mission expected to be launched in 2026 via an upcoming SpaceX Transporter ride-share flight purchased by Momentus, Solstar’s Deke Space Communicator will complete its first on-orbit demonstration in low-earth orbit.
Solstar’s Wi-Fi will be out-of-this-world, literally, “(Solstar’s technology) is just basically modernizing the way space-to-ground communications has been done,” said Brian Barnett, founder and CEO of Solstar.

Most spacecraft, manned and unmanned, rely on transmission towers for communication. Ground communications can be costly, provided by vendors and only allow for a “periodic burst” of communication, sometimes 10 minutes according to Barnett, when a spacecraft passes over a ground station.

Solstar is seeking to change that by bringing on-demand Wi-Fi and narrowband internet connectivity to space, according to the release.

The majority of “things” that are launched into space are unmanned, according to Barnett, who refers to the company’s service as really the “internet of things.”

However, that doesn’t mean Deke cannot be used for human connection in space. The product could be placed on the International Space Station and allow for phone calls, hot spots, texts, emails and more.

The startup’s connectivity solution has the capacity to allow customers, in this case Momentus and its clients, to utilize commercial satellite constellations to communicate with other systems aboard spacecraft in orbit.

The company’s technology has the potential to bring a new capacity to both commercial and government customers, following the launch in 2026.
The flight will include a number of payloads from other customers on board the spacecraft, including a payload from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, which will also be able to use the communications system.

“We’re pretty excited about the partnership, because that’s a real advancement in what you can do today for communications with space today,” Rood said.
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Solstar’s Deke Space Communicator will complete its first on-orbit demonstration in low-earth orbit (LEO).

Solstar won’t be the first to bring connectivity to space, but Rood believes Solstar will be the first to do it at a price point “attractive to a broad market-based sector.”
He also said the ability to communicate in an on-demand way, and leveraging Solstar’s relationship with Iridium is “pivotal.” Solstar provides satellite devices and solar chargers for the company.

“It’s not been applied to space systems yet, and I think here the ability for a broad swath of customers and mission types to be able to utilize this kind of service … hasn’t really been around in the way Solstar envisions,” he said.