Helio Corporation Acquires Thermal Vacuum Chamber for Space Hardware Testing

BERKELEY, Calif., September 22, 2026 /CourierPR/ -- Helio Corporation, a developer of advanced space-based solar power and engineering technologies, has acquired a full-scale thermal vacuum chamber from a leading academic institution. This acquisition will significantly accelerate the qualification of space-based systems, particularly those related to the company’s space-based solar power and lunar deployable hardware programs.

The thermal vacuum chamber, measuring approximately five feet six inches wide by ten feet long and extending to twenty-six feet in height, is designed to simulate space conditions. It will enable Helio to test and deploy mechanisms and booms under extreme hot and cold thermal cycles, which are common in orbit and on the lunar surface. This in-house capability will allow the company to run iterative thermal vacuum cycles on its extendable boom architectures on its own timeline, thereby compressing development cycles for the deployable structures that support solar arrays, antenna systems, and instrument booms.

The thermal vacuum testing is one of the most demanding and essential steps in qualifying deployable space hardware. Historically, access to such a chamber required third-party facility bookings, which constrained schedules and added costs. With this asset now on site, Helio can run iterative thermal vacuum cycles on its own timeline, significantly reducing development time and costs.

The new chamber will also enable Helio to study how longer, more complex boom geometries perform under the wide thermal swings found in cislunar and lunar environments. This work directly supports the company's ongoing lunar programs and its recently filed patent family covering precision deployable boom architecture. Helio has established itself as a front runner in deployable, space-qualified boom hardware, and this chamber gives the company a rare in-house capability to prove that leadership at full scale rather than relying on scaled-down demonstrations.

Booms are the backbone of the large structures required for space-based solar power collection and for lunar surface science and infrastructure. The ability to thermally qualify longer booms in-house strengthens Helio's position to deliver flight-proven mechanisms to NASA, commercial partners, and academic collaborators. The company's vision is to establish orbital energy platforms as a foundational layer of the global power grid, delivering uninterrupted, carbon-free electricity at scale and reshaping how nations power cities, industries, and critical systems.