Santa Fe's Solstar Space gets $1.25M federal contract to aid Air Force efforts

Apr. 15—The Santa Fe-based startup Solstar Space has received a $1.25 million Small Business Innovation Phase II research contract from AFWERX, the innovation arm of the U.S. Air Force, to "address pressing challenges" for the department.

The money will aid Solstar in its development of its Continuous Spacecraft System Communications Wideband, or CSSC-WB, unit known as the Slayton Space Communicator, according to a news release.

Solstar says Slayton provides high-speed downlink and uplink communication capabilities that help increase connectivity with spacecraft and people operating in low Earth orbit "while minimizing communications blackout periods caused by limited ground station links."

"Slayton Space Communicators will provide crucial near real time access to large data files like remote sensing images and video," Brian Barnett, CEO of Solstar Space, said in a statement. "As [low Earth orbit] becomes increasingly congested, it is imperative that the U.S. Space Force has complete situational awareness."