Atomic-6 partners with Starpath Robotics for Lunar Power Tower development

Atomic-6 partners with Starpath Robotics for Lunar Power Tower development

by Erica Marchand

Paris, France (SPX) Nov 25, 2024

Atomic-6 has entered into a development contract with Starpath Robotics to design and build a deployable composite boom for Starpath’s advanced solar power generation system. This collaboration brings together Atomic-6’s innovative composite manufacturing techniques and Starpath’s vision for lunar infrastructure development.

Starpath Robotics is working to establish robotic mining operations on the Moon, aiming to produce hundreds of tons of liquid oxygen annually for use in refueling and space industry applications. Long-term plans include scaling up production to tens of thousands of tons annually to support broader space exploration initiatives.

Saurav Shroff, CEO of Starpath Robotics, emphasized the importance of the project: “The Power Tower’s deployable mast is a challenging component to manufacture. A stiff, reliable, and lightweight mast is important in optimizing power-per-mast and, equally importantly, increasing the visible land area on the Moon that can be serviced by high-data-rate long-range communication systems at the top of the tower. In the not-so-distant future, tens, and then hundreds, and then thousands, of Power Towers establish cislunar capabilities suited for a multiplanetary species. To give a size perspective, the Power Tower will be a colossal structure, equivalent to almost one and a half NBA regulation size basketball courts!”

Atomic-6’s Space Mast technology, offering a 15% increase in specific strength compared to traditional composites, is a key enabler of this initiative. The company’s experience with high-performance composites, demonstrated in USAF STTR projects and its Light Wing solar arrays, positions it as a critical partner in this lunar endeavor.

The collaboration aims to deliver and evaluate a high-performance composite mast for the Power Tower. A successful outcome could lead to a follow-on contract to mass-produce and deploy the system on the Moon, with operational testing anticipated by 2026. This project aligns with Starpath’s mission to cut the costs of deep space missions and supports NASA’s Artemis Program goal of establishing a long-term human presence on the Moon.