Lonestar Data Holdings CEO Chris Stott woke up on Feb. 23 feeling elated.
After months of planning, the St. Petersburg space startup's tech had finally touched down on the moon onboard a Texas-based Intuitive Machines lunar lander. It had planned to perform data transmission tests on its moon-bound device for months, and it validated its mission with the test's completion. With Lonestar tech sitting on the lunar surface, the startup's fiction-like goal became a reality, Stott said.
"Putting data centers on the moon — yesterday, it was science fiction. Today, it's science fact," Stott said.
Although the "bottle of scotch and cigars" came out on President's Day with the completion of its data transmission before reaching the moon, the startup achieved a new footing in the space economy. The lunar access — a small step and a giant leap for both companies, Stott said — solidified Lonestar's future plans to raise capital and prove the value of lunar data storage.
With the moonshot, the Sunshine State became one of the first states to publicly store information on the moon. Florida only stored a list of state parks, the Florida Constitution, and the founding documents of Space Florida. Yet, the move represented Florida's goal to be an ecosystem and hub for interplanetary industry, Rob Long, the president and CEO of Space Florida, said.
"Sometimes you say 'interplanetary' and people give you a strange look, but these are the examples that are very early still," Long said. "Over time, these are the integrated economic activities, commerce activities that are going to be the future."
Emphasis on data security
It also underscores the future importance of secure data storage, he said.
"Lonestar and the hundreds of other partners we're working with out there speak to the value of such an approach, both across the entire state and, of course, specifically to what Space Florida brings to the table," Long said.
And for Stott and Lonestar, the experience of working with the company behind the first commercial trip to the moon was eventful.
"When you're buying a ride to the moon, you want to make sure that the people you're with know what they're doing; Intuitive Machines have always risen to the challenge, and they've always proven that on the technical side of things, they are world-class," Stott said.
Lonestar's tech made the moon-bound trip nestled alongside research instruments, cameras and artwork on the lunar lander. The trip was the first successful American lunar mission since the Apollo landing in 1969. The Cape Canaveral-initiated trip demonstrated how space travel is increasingly the result of entrepreneurial innovation and validated both Intuitive Machines and Florida, the executives said.
Stott knew each Intuitive Machines expert in the control room. Their performance and calm professionalism impressed Stott — an aerospace industry veteran — even when the lander's communication was interrupted or navigational equipment dismantled during the complex landing, he said.
"They did something incredibly hard and did it right on the first time. It's an absolute testament to that team and their strengths," Stott said
After the landing, Intuitive Machines announced that the lander fell on its side. The only effect of the imperfect landing was that a payload containing an art project pointed down, according to reports.
Now, Lonestar is pushing forward and talking to investors about a $30 million Series A funding round in the next six months. It's also planning a mission to send an eight-terabyte device to the moon — called the "Freedom Payload" — with IM2 and Intuitive Machines.
