Post Deposit

You’ve Made Your Reservation Deposit at Starfront!

Thank you for securing your pier with Starfront Observatories! Your deposit serves as the installation fee for your remote telescope—no additional fees are required. Below is important information on what to expect next and how to prepare your equipment for shipment or drop-off.

What Happens Next?

Thank you for securing your pier with Starfront Observatories! Your deposit serves as the installation fee for your remote telescope—no additional fees are required. Below is important information on what to expect next and how to prepare your equipment for shipment or drop-off.

1. Inventory Your Equipment – Before shipping, take stock of everything you will be sending, including your telescope, mount, remote PC, accessories, and cables. Please feel free to use this Pre-Shipping Checklist to make sure you’ve got all of your bases covered!

2. Receive Shipping Information – See below on where to ship your equipment to.

3. Prepare for Shipping – Securely package your equipment and include any return labels if you want packaging, boxes, or unused accessories sent back to you after installation. We always recommend customers opt in for shipping insurance as damage during transit, while rare, does sometimes happen.

4. Drop-Off Option – If you prefer to drop off your equipment in person instead of shipping, you must schedule a day and time (usually weekends between 1-3pm CT) by emailing shipping@starfront.space.

5. Join the Starfront Discord Community – We HIGHLY recommend that customers join our Discord server (at https://discord.gg/starfront) for important announcements regarding roof and weather status, events, and more. More importantly, our very active and supportive community will become your best and most helpful source of information in your remote imaging journey!

6. Open an Installation Ticket in Discord – After your equipment has arrived on site, open a ticket via the Submit Support Ticket channel via the Customer Portal on our website (the person icon in the upper right hand side of our landing page). Provide your full name and any information about your system that our technician should be aware of. StarFront staff will communicate with you privately within the ticket.

Shipping Information

If you are shipping equipment to StarFront Observatories for Remote Telescope Hosting, please follow the address format below to ensure a smooth delivery and proper customs processing. Most importantly (other than getting the address correct!) is to use your name so that we know
Shipping Address for UPS & FedEx:

[CUSTOMER NAME] ? (Make sure this is your name, not a staff member’s!)
c/o Starfront Observatories
1724 County Road 244
Rockwood, TX 76873

Shipping Address for USPS:

[CUSTOMER NAME] ? (Make sure this is your name, not a staff member’s!)
c/o Starfront Observatories
1724 County Road 244
B721 ? (Without this PO Box number, your package will likely be returned)
Rockwood, TX 76873

Important Notes:

[CUSTOMER NAME] ? (Make sure this is your name, not a staff member’s!)
c/o Starfront Observatories
1724 County Road 244
B721 ? (Without this PO Box number, your package will likely be returned)
Rockwood, TX 76873

• Replace [Your Name] with your full name.
• Using "Attn:" ensures that the package is associated with you, while "For: Equipment Hosting" clarifies the purpose of the shipment for customs.
• Make sure to include all necessary shipping details and any required customs documentation.
• Following these guidelines will help us manage your equipment efficiently and ensure a successful hosting experience at StarFront Observatories.

Customer Responsibilities

• Remote PC Setup – Customers are responsible for ensuring their remote PC is fully configured with all required drivers, software, and settings before shipment.
• Return Labels – If you want packaging or unused items returned after installation, you must provide a return label with your original shipment. If additional items need to be returned later, you must notify us and provide a return label for shipping.

Remote Access Information

• Most customers useChrome Remote Desktop, AnyDesk, or Microsoft Remote Desktop Connection (RDC)to access their remote PC.
• VPN Access – StarFront staff will provide a VPN connection if required, but AnyDesk and Chrome Remote Desktop do not require VPN access.
• Customer-Configured VPN – Customers may pre-configure their own VPN on their remote system to control access from their home PC instead of relying on StarFront Observatories' VPN.
• Static IP Requests – Customers may request a static IP for their system if required, which will be provided after installation is complete, not before.

How to Streamline the Install Process

To ensure a smooth installation, we recommend customers take the following steps:

1. Label Your Cables & Connections

• Use labels or color-coded tags to identify cables and ports for easy setup.

2. Secure Your Packaging

• Fragile components such as cameras, filters, and reducers should be packed with extra care.
• Include a checklist of shipped items for reference and please include with your shipment. Be sure to include any removable items such as filters that may be included in your system.

3. Provide Power Requirements

• Specify any special power adapters, voltage requirements, or proprietary power supplies needed for your system.

4. Take Pictures of Your Setup

• Photos of your equipment and its assembled configuration can be helpful for our technicians during installation.

5. Provide Setup Instructions (Optional)

• Customers may submit detailed setup instructions, but please note that our technicians may need to make adjustments to optimize the installation on the pier.
• If you have unique requests (cable routing, specific balancing preferences, etc.), let us know.

6. Cable Management (Optional)

• Customers can do cable management on their systems if they’re comfortable with doing that. If not, let us cable manage it as we’ll also be working on them if something has to get changed

If you have any additional questions, feel free to reach out to our team at customersupport@starfront.space. We look forward to getting your system installed and operational!

Helpful video content

While these videos have been created to share information and answer questions that customers may have, please note that some of the information in these videos may be stale and not updated. For the latest and most up to date information, please consult the written information above.

• Starfront Observatories - “What to do after reserving a pier”