TECHNOLOGY
Santa Fe鈥檚 Solstar calls Deke鈥檚 orbit success 鈥榬eally significant milestone鈥�
Launched last month on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, the system powered up on April 15 aboard a Momentus-operated spacecraft
Solstar Space Co. said it successfully launched its Deke Space Communicator 鈥� basically, an internet modem for spacecraft 鈥� into orbit.
The Santa Fe-based company is 鈥渘ow in the growth stage,鈥� raising seed money, said Brian Barnett, founder and CEO, ready to tackle a multi-billion-dollar market for space communications infrastructure. The Deke Space Communicator relays data between people and payloads in space and on the ground, and provides a Wi-Fi connection.
鈥淭his is our first commercial flight,鈥� Barnett said. 鈥淪o it鈥檚 a really significant milestone to have achieved for our company 鈥� but possibly for the space industry, the commercial space industry.鈥�
Barnett formed the company in 2017 and received a NASA contract to test the technologies. Under that agreement, Solstar鈥檚 devices have been aboard four flights. It has received Small Business Innovation Research contracts to develop space-based relays and lunar Wi-Fi for the U.S. Space Force and a lunar Wi-Fi access point for . In 2025, Solstar began work under a $15 million agreement with Momentus Inc. to demonstrate the Deke Space Communicator.
Last month, a Momentus-operated spacecraft 鈥� on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara, California 鈥� carried the Deke system into space. The system was powered into orbit on April 15, 鈥渃onfirming that it survived the rigors of launch and is functioning as designed,鈥� Solstar said in a news release.
鈥淪olstar has since verified that the system is operating nominally and, in several cases, exceeding initial expectations,鈥� the release said.
Barnett said NASA spacecraft have for years used its tracking and data relay satellites for high-bandwidth communication. But NASA is retiring that system and looking to commercial operators for space communications services. Solstar hopes to be a provider to both government and private-sector payloads in space.
鈥淭here鈥檚 just this really large amount of private money being invested in space now: $6.5 billion in 2025,鈥� Barnett said. 鈥� So all of those space startups require modern connectivity. And that鈥檚 what we鈥檙e addressing.鈥�
Justin Horwath covers tech and energy for the Journal. He can be reached at jhorwath@abqjournal.com.
