[3][4][5] Prior to this, Barnett had developed an initial design of a communication system which was used to successfully transmit the first-ever commercial text message from earth to space in November 2013,[3][6] with students from Albuquerque sending 16 messages to a device aboard a UP Aerospace rocket[7][8] launched from Spaceport America.

[12][13][14] In April 2018, Solstar tested the Schmitt Space Communicator SC-1x, a three-pound device, in a Blue Origin capsule on a New Shepard rocket[15] which was launched from the Blue Origin's launch facility near Van Horn, Texas,[7][16] and reached a height of 66 miles.

[18][21] It conducted a second successful test in July 2018, with the flight reaching a peak height of 73.8 miles above sea level.

[12][14][25] The April 2018 test footage was featured in a short documentary, The Digital Nomad and the Scientist, detailing the first commercial WiFi service in space.

[28] In June 2018, Solstar sought Securities and Exchange Commission's approval to raise investment capital through the crowdfunding platform Wefunder.