Wireless Access Points for Gateway to be Provided by Solstar Space
Northrop Grumman Corporation has tasked Solstar Space with providing the Wireless Access Points that will be used on NASA's Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO) module planned for launch in 2024.
"The Solstar wireless access point will be mounted inside the HALO module and will be smaller than a laptop. It will provide a WiFi network for connectivity that will support astronaut communications with ground control, the lunar surface, and spacecraft."
Mark Matossian, Co-Founder, Solstar Space Company.
"Persistent connectivity is crucial for space-based operations. The Solstar wireless access point will be mounted inside the HALO module and will be smaller than a laptop. It will provide a WiFi network for connectivity that will support astronaut communications with ground control, the lunar surface, and spacecraft, while also supporting payload integration, experiments, and more. It will securely connect WiFi-enabled components including computers and IoT sensors, creating a collection of space-based networked devices," says Mark Matossian, Co-Founder, Solstar Space Company. "Future space-hardened units could be developed for surface of the moon operations, and used on rovers and habitation units," continues Matossian.
Solstar is providing a mission critical component of the HALO module. Providing reliable connectivity for NASA's crew and the devices used aboard HALO is essential to the safety and success of this first module of the Lunar Gateway. Solstar has spaceflight-proven communications technologies that have been demonstrated on three previous launches on Blue Origin New Shepard and UP Aerospace spaceflights.
HALO is where astronauts will live and conduct research while visiting the Gateway. The pressurized living quarters will provide command and control systems for the lunar outpost, and docking ports for visiting spacecraft, such as NASA’s Orion spacecraft, lunar landers, and logistics resupply craft. The HALO module will serve as the backbone for command and control and power distribution across Gateway and will perform other core functions, including hosting science investigations via internal and external payload accommodations and communicating with lunar surface expeditions. HALO also will enable the aggregation of additional habitable elements to expand Gateway capabilities. Immediately after launch, the Heliophysics Environmental and Radiation Measurement Experiment Suite, built by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, will begin conducting research outside of the integrated spacecraft.
(Source: Solstar Space news release and NASA information. Image from file)