{"title":"SpaceNexus Orbital Data Centers tracker","asOf":"2026-10-05","licence":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"citation":"SpaceNexus, \"Orbital Data Centers tracker\", data as of 2026-10-05, https://spacenexus.us/orbital-data-centers","stageRule":"concept = plans, filings or designs with no ODC hardware built or flown; study = a funded feasibility or design study; ground-prototype = hardware in development, nothing flown; payload-demo-flown = compute or storage flown as a hosted payload or on the ISS; dedicated-satellite-flown = its own compute satellite flown; pathfinder-constellation = several compute satellites flown as a network; operational-service = in-orbit compute sold to customers.","confidenceRule":"confirmed = primary source or two reputable outlets; company-claim = the company says so; reported = one reputable outlet; single-source = one source of lower or unclear quality.","programs":[{"id":"kepler-compute","name":"Kepler Communications (Kepler Compute)","country":"CA","region":"other","type":"startup","companySlug":"kepler-communications","approach":{"orbit":"LEO (SSO)","architecture":"Optical data relay constellation whose satellites carry multi-GPU compute modules and storage; hosts Axiom's first two ODC nodes","power":"Not disclosed (about 300 kg satellites)","cooling":"Not disclosed","compute":"40 NVIDIA Jetson Orin modules across 10 satellites (4 each); 2.5 Gbps SDA-compatible optical links","customers":"Government and commercial spacecraft; Axiom Space; Sophia Space"},"stage":"operational-service","stageReason":"It commissioned compute across its 10-satellite tranche on 2026-03-16 and opened it to commercial customers on 2026-04-13 (reported). Axiom bought two compute payloads; 18 customers were reported (TechCrunch, 2026-04-13); no customer workload results have been published.","stageSources":[{"url":"https://techcrunch.com/2026/04/13/the-largest-orbital-compute-cluster-is-open-for-business/","publisher":"TechCrunch","quote":"The company now has 18 customers"},{"url":"https://satnews.com/2026/03/17/kepler-commissions-first-nvidia-powered-cloud-infrastructure-across-optical-constellation/","publisher":"SatNews","quote":""},{"url":"https://betakit.com/kepler-communications-sells-its-first-on-orbit-compute-power-to-axiom-space/","publisher":"BetaKit","quote":"Kepler Communications sells its first on-orbit compute power to Axiom Space"}],"isVisionOnly":false,"headlineMetrics":[{"label":"Satellites in Tranche 1","value":10,"unit":"satellites","companyClaim":false,"sources":[{"url":"https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/01/11/3216480/0/en/kepler-successfully-launches-first-tranche-of-optical-relay-satellites.html","publisher":"GlobeNewswire","quote":""}],"confidence":"confirmed"},{"label":"GPU modules in orbit","value":40,"unit":"NVIDIA Jetson Orin","companyClaim":false,"sources":[{"url":"https://smallsatnews.com/2026/03/17/kepler-commissions-first-nvidia-powered-cloud-infrastructure-across-optical-constellation/","publisher":"SmallSat News","quote":"40x NVIDIA Jetson Orin Modules (4 per satellite)"}],"confidence":"reported"}],"milestones":[{"date":"2026-01-11","title":"First tranche of 10 optical relay satellites launched, carrying Axiom's first two ODC nodes","detail":"Falcon 9 from Vandenberg.","status":"achieved","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/01/11/3216480/0/en/kepler-successfully-launches-first-tranche-of-optical-relay-satellites.html","publisher":"GlobeNewswire","quote":"Kepler Successfully Launches First Tranche of Optical Relay Satellites"},{"url":"https://kepler.space/kepler-successfully-launches-first-tranche-of-optical-relay-satellites/","publisher":"Kepler Communications","quote":"Our optical relay satellites make it possible for users to rapidly deploy their missions with a real-time, connected, cloud environment."}]},{"date":"2026-03-16","title":"Kepler Compute commissioned: 40 Jetson Orin modules across 10 satellites","detail":"","status":"achieved","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://smallsatnews.com/2026/03/17/kepler-commissions-first-nvidia-powered-cloud-infrastructure-across-optical-constellation/","publisher":"SmallSat News","quote":""},{"url":"https://satnews.com/2026/03/17/kepler-commissions-first-nvidia-powered-cloud-infrastructure-across-optical-constellation/","publisher":"SatNews","quote":""}]},{"date":"2026-04-13","title":"Compute opened to commercial customers","detail":"","status":"achieved","confidence":"reported","sources":[{"url":"https://techcrunch.com/2026/04/13/the-largest-orbital-compute-cluster-is-open-for-business/","publisher":"TechCrunch","quote":"The largest orbital compute cluster is open for business"}]},{"detail":"The network launched on 2026-01-11, about 21 months after the 2024 target.","status":"achieved","date":"2023-04-13","title":"Plan: launch the optical network in 2024, services by Q1 2025","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.satellitetoday.com/finance/2023/04/13/kepler-communications-raises-92-million-in-a-series-c-round/","publisher":"Via Satellite","quote":""},{"url":"https://www.sdxcentral.com/news/kepler-communications-raises-92-million-for-optical-satellite-relay-network/","publisher":"SDxCentral","quote":""}]}],"nextSteps":[{"target":"2028","title":"Next tranche across multiple launches, including a dedicated Rocket Lab launch, with up to 100 Gbps links","kind":"announced","sources":[{"url":"https://kepler.space/kepler-delivers-optical-infrastructure-for-real-time-space-operations/","publisher":"Kepler","quote":"In 2028, Kepler will expand"}],"slips":[]}],"funding":[{"date":"2023-04-13","amount":92000000,"currency":"USD","usd":92000000,"round":"Series C","leads":"IA Ventures","sources":[{"url":"https://www.sdxcentral.com/news/kepler-communications-raises-92-million-for-optical-satellite-relay-network/","publisher":"SDxCentral","quote":""},{"url":"https://www.satellitetoday.com/finance/2023/04/13/kepler-communications-raises-92-million-in-a-series-c-round/","publisher":"Via Satellite","quote":"$92 Million USD in Series C funding led by IA Ventures"}],"verified":true,"note":"relay network round; context only, not counted in totals"}],"filings":[],"people":["Mina Mitry (CEO)"],"watchFor":"Named paying compute customers beyond Axiom and Sophia.","cautions":["Jetson-class edge compute (tens of watts per module), not data-center power.","\"Largest orbital compute cluster\" is the TechCrunch headline framing."],"flownRole":"own-hardware"},{"id":"ada-space-star-compute","name":"ADA Space Star Compute","nativeName":"成都国星宇航科技股份有限公司 (星算计划)","country":"CN","region":"china","type":"startup","companySlug":null,"approach":{"orbit":"LEO, 500 to 1,000 km, dawn-dusk sun-synchronous and low-inclination (company plan)","architecture":"Commercial AI computing satellite constellation with laser links and onboard AI; built and co-launched the first 12 Three-Body satellites with Zhejiang Lab","power":"Solar (not quantified)","cooling":"Not disclosed","compute":"Highest single-satellite compute reported at 744 TOPS, with models up to 8 billion parameters; the first 12 satellites about 5 POPS combined with 30 TB storage; 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Query uplinked, answer returned in under two minutes (reported).","status":"achieved","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3341388/alibabas-qwen-3-becomes-worlds-first-ai-model-operate-orbit","publisher":"South China Morning Post","quote":"Alibaba's Qwen-3 becomes one of world's first AI models to operate in orbit"},{"url":"https://www.jiemian.com/article/13938719.html","publisher":"Jiemian","quote":"2025年11月，国星宇航成功将千问3（Qwen3）大模型部署至星算计划01组太空计算中心"}]},{"date":"2025-10","title":"RMB 5B bank financing support (credit) reported","detail":"Bank of China Sichuan branch, with China Construction Bank and China Investment Corporation.","status":"achieved","confidence":"reported","sources":[{"url":"https://www.china-in-space.com/p/chinas-space-enterprises-quietly","publisher":"China in Space","quote":""},{"url":"https://www.china-in-space.com/p/ada-space-eyes-launching-2800-ai","publisher":"China in Space","quote":""}]},{"date":"2026-01","title":"Two experimental satellites lost in a launch failure (per prospectus)","detail":"One customer 3D-printed satellite and one internal test satellite.","status":"failed","confidence":"reported","sources":[{"url":"https://m.rccaijing.com/news-7460919442005488833.html","publisher":"RC Caijing","quote":"the rocket encountered technical problems"}]},{"date":"2026-04","title":"Pre-IPO round of RMB 3.55B at RMB 11.554B post-money","detail":"","status":"achieved","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://finance.sina.com.cn/wm/2026-05-15/doc-inhxxspp6235085.shtml","publisher":"Sina Finance","quote":"募集资金总额35.5亿元，投后估值达115.54亿元"},{"url":"https://m.chinaventure.com.cn/news/114-20260518-391398.html","publisher":"ChinaVenture","quote":"2026年4月，国星宇航刚刚完成35.5亿元新一轮融资，投后估值约115.54亿元"}]},{"date":"2026-05-14","title":"Third Hong Kong listing application filed","detail":"Prospectus: 18 AI computing satellites developed across 14 missions.","status":"achieved","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://finance.sina.com.cn/wm/2026-05-15/doc-inhxxspp6235085.shtml","publisher":"Sina Finance","quote":"自主开发了6个AI有效载荷、4颗AI应用卫星和18颗AI智算卫星，同时成功完成了14次太空任务"}]},{"date":"2026-09-01","title":"Departure ceremony for the first 8 Group 02 satellites","detail":"Launch \"soon\" as of 2026-09-17; 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not converted to USD"}],"creditLines":[{"date":"2025-10","amount":5000000000,"currency":"CNY","usd":null,"round":"Bank financing support (credit line, not equity)","leads":"Bank of China Sichuan branch","sources":[{"url":"https://www.china-in-space.com/p/ada-space-eyes-launching-2800-ai","publisher":"China in Space","quote":""}],"verified":false,"note":"credit availability, not drawn funding"}],"filings":[{"body":"ITU","date":"2025-05-14 (reported)","what":"Orbit and spectrum approval reported for all 2,800 satellites","sources":[{"url":"https://www.china-in-space.com/p/ada-space-eyes-launching-2800-ai","publisher":"China in Space","quote":"Orbits and spectrum for all 2,800 satellites approved by International Telecommunication Union"}]}],"people":["Lu Chuan (founder, chairman)","Wang Lei (CEO)","Zhao Hongjie (Executive VP)"],"watchFor":"Whether the 8 Group 02 satellites launch, and the outcome of the Hong Kong listing application.","cautions":["Per-satellite TOPS and model-size figures are company and state-media claims at unstated precision.","Western press often merges ADA's Star Compute and Zhejiang Lab's Three-Body; 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Edge class.","stageSources":[{"url":"https://www.china-in-space.com/p/uzbek-indonesian-satellites-launched","publisher":"China in Space","quote":"a Jielong-3 ascended at 10:38 am China Standard Time (02:38 am Universal Coordinated Time) on August 5th"}],"isVisionOnly":false,"headlineMetrics":[{"label":"Planned satellites (long run)","value":"more than 1,000","unit":"satellites","companyClaim":true,"sources":[{"url":"https://www.sohu.com/a/1081902506_114984","publisher":"Sohu (announcement)","quote":"远期规划部署超过1000颗太空智能体，分阶段推进，预计2035年完成千星组网"}],"confidence":"company-claim"},{"label":"G1 compute payload peak power (planned)","value":11.5,"unit":"kW","companyClaim":true,"sources":[{"url":"https://www.sohu.com/a/1081902506_114984","publisher":"Sohu (announcement)","quote":"远期规划部署超过1000颗太空智能体，分阶段推进，预计2035年完成千星组网"},{"url":"https://www.china-in-space.com/p/starvision-unveils-spaceidc-computing","publisher":"China in Space","quote":""}],"confidence":"company-claim"},{"label":"Bank credit lines (not equity)","value":10,"unit":"RMB billion","companyClaim":false,"sources":[{"url":"https://m.21jingji.com/article/20260926/herald/1c884b26598bef4cc5bd45ab847f34fb.html","publisher":"21st Century Business Herald","quote":"额度各50亿元、合计100亿元"}],"confidence":"reported"}],"milestones":[{"date":"2026-08-05","title":"STAR.VISION pair launched on Jielong-3 Y12","detail":"Built by STAR.VISION with onboard AI pre-processing (China in Space, which names them as Uzbek and Indonesian Earth-observation satellites). 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In February 2026 it planned to build its first two TILEs and begin ground testing this year; a patent issued on 2026-07-14.","stageSources":[{"url":"https://techcrunch.com/2026/02/26/sophia-space-raises-10m-seed-to-demo-novel-space-computers/","publisher":"TechCrunch","quote":""},{"url":"https://www.supercomputing.news/emerging/sophia-space-orbital-data-center-patent-radiator-area","publisher":"Supercomputing.news","quote":""}],"isVisionOnly":false,"headlineMetrics":[{"label":"Total funding (company figure)","value":22,"unit":"USD million","companyClaim":true,"sources":[{"url":"https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sophia-space-announces-7-million-safe-financing-bringing-total-funding-to-22-million-302806945.html","publisher":"PR Newswire","quote":""}],"confidence":"company-claim"},{"label":"SLI leasing framework (non-binding)","value":300,"unit":"USD million","companyClaim":false,"sources":[{"url":"https://payloadspace.com/sophia-space-sli-set-terms-for-300m-satellite-leasing-deal/","publisher":"Payload","quote":""}],"confidence":"reported"},{"label":"Planned TILE constellation","value":10,"unit":"spacecraft","companyClaim":true,"sources":[{"url":"https://www.geekwire.com/2026/sophia-space-sli-300m-deal-computing-constellation/","publisher":"GeekWire","quote":""}],"confidence":"company-claim"}],"milestones":[{"date":"2025-05-19","title":"$3.5M pre-seed","detail":"Led by Unlock Ventures.","status":"achieved","confidence":"reported","sources":[{"url":"https://www.geekwire.com/2025/new-space-startup-with-several-seattle-ties-lands-3-5m-to-develop-orbital-data-centers/","publisher":"GeekWire","quote":"raised $3.5 million in pre-seed funding"},{"url":"https://sophia.space/news/sophia-space-closes-pre-seed-financing","publisher":"Sophia Space","quote":"$3.5 million Pre-Seed round"}]},{"date":"2026-02-24","title":"$10M seed","detail":"Led by Alpha Funds, KDDI Green Partners Fund and Unlock Venture Partners. 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Apex Nova bus chosen for 2027 demo; $22M total","detail":"","status":"achieved","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sophia-space-announces-7-million-safe-financing-bringing-total-funding-to-22-million-302806945.html","publisher":"PR Newswire","quote":"Sophia Space Announces $7 Million SAFE Financing, Bringing Total Funding to $22 Million"},{"url":"https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sophia-space-selects-apex-to-power-realtime-computing-in-orbit-302806905.html","publisher":"PR Newswire","quote":""}]},{"date":"2026-09-14","title":"$300M non-binding asset-financing framework with SLI for 10 TILE spacecraft","detail":"SLI would buy and lease the satellites; a letter of support only.","status":"achieved","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://payloadspace.com/sophia-space-sli-set-terms-for-300m-satellite-leasing-deal/","publisher":"Payload","quote":"When you start being able to have a finance scenario like this for a nascent industry, that industry is no longer nascent"}]},{"detail":"Redwire covers deployables, power, thermal and integration; 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Musk memo: 100 GW per year of AI compute from a million tons of satellites a year.","status":"achieved","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://spacenews.com/spacex-acquires-xai-in-bid-to-develop-orbital-data-centers/","publisher":"SpaceNews","quote":"Global electricity demand for AI simply cannot be met with terrestrial solutions, even in the near term, without imposing hardship on communities and the environment"}]},{"date":"2026-05-20","title":"S-1 risk factor: orbital AI compute may not be commercially viable","detail":"IPO prospectus says the plans involve unproven technology and depend on Starship reusability.","status":"achieved","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://thenextweb.com/news/spacex-orbital-data-centres-ipo-risk-disclosure","publisher":"The Next Web","quote":"involve significant technical complexity and unproven technologies, and may not achieve commercial viability"},{"url":"https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1181412/000162828026036936/spaceexplorationtechnologi.htm","publisher":"US SEC","quote":""}]},{"date":"2026-05-06","title":"Anthropic expresses interest in multiple gigawatts of orbital compute with SpaceX","detail":"Alongside a ground-based Colossus 1 agreement. 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These are largely the same V3 bus that we were just talking about for Starlink"},{"url":"https://stockanalysis.com/stocks/spcx/transcripts/740754-goldman-sachs-communacopia-technology-conference-2026/","publisher":"StockAnalysis (transcript)","quote":"We're actually targeting to fly our first orbital compute satellites next year."}]},{"date":"2026-09-28","title":"Starship Flight 14 reaches orbit and deploys 26 Starlink V3 satellites","detail":"V3 is the bus SpaceX says compute satellites will share; these V3s are broadband satellites.","status":"achieved","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://spacepolicyonline.com/news/starship-achieves-orbit-for-the-first-time/","publisher":"SpacePolicyOnline","quote":"All 26 were released"}]},{"date":"2026-09-20","title":"Musk: Gen3 Starlink satellites to be 250 kW with an NVIDIA Vera Rubin NVL72","detail":"An X reply about Gen3 Starlink, not a specification of the AI1 compute satellite. Not flown.","status":"achieved","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://x.com/elonmusk/status/2101466638939832365","publisher":"Elon Musk on X","quote":"Each sat is 250kW and will have a SpaceX-designed Nvidia Vera Rubin NVL72 computer."},{"url":"https://satnews.com/2026/10/04/spacex-unveils-250-kw-starlink-gen3-ai-satellites-featuring-10-tbps-throughput-and-onboard-edge-compute/","publisher":"SatNews","quote":""}]},{"detail":"Free writing prospectus (a video interview of 2026-06-08, filed 2026-06-09). Most quoted lines are CFO Bret Johnsen. Musk calls the AI1 design \"a draft version\". About 200 launches per gigawatt; around 600 to 800 km.","status":"achieved","date":"2026-06-09","title":"Prospectus filing: fly compute satellites in 2027, service in 2028, meaningful compute in 2029","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1181412/000162828026041761/fwp_cfointerview.htm","publisher":"US SEC (free writing prospectus, filed 2026-06-09)","quote":"We're going to start flying those satellites next year and we're targeting 2028 to turn on that service."},{"url":"https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1181412/000162828026041761/fwp_cfointerview.htm","publisher":"US SEC (free writing prospectus, filed 2026-06-09)","quote":"And I think in 2029, we'll have meaningful amounts of compute in space."},{"url":"https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1181412/000162828026041761/fwp_cfointerview.htm","publisher":"US SEC (free writing prospectus, filed 2026-06-09)","quote":"It's roughly 200 launches for every gigawatt that we put up."}]}],"nextSteps":[{"target":"2027 (CFO, 2026-06-09 and 2026-09-10); service as early as 2028 (prospectus)","title":"First orbital compute satellites","kind":"announced","sources":[{"url":"https://www.investing.com/news/transcripts/spacex-at-goldman-sachs-communacopia--technology-conference-2026-compute-push-93CH-4896834","publisher":"Investing.com","quote":"We're actually targeting to fly our first orbital compute satellites next year."},{"url":"https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1181412/000162828026042639/spaceexplorationtechnologi.htm","publisher":"US SEC (SpaceX 424B4 prospectus)","quote":"We expect to begin deploying our orbital AI compute satellites as early as 2028."},{"url":"https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1181412/000162828026041761/fwp_cfointerview.htm","publisher":"US SEC (free writing prospectus, filed 2026-06-09)","quote":"We're going to start flying those satellites next year and we're targeting 2028 to turn on that service."}],"slips":[]},{"target":"late 2027 (Musk target, as reported)","title":"1 GW per year of orbital AI compute capacity","kind":"announced","sources":[{"url":"https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/big-tech/spacex-unveils-11-million-square-foot-gigasat-factory-a-new-manufacturing-facility-for-space-based-data-centers-aims-for-1-gw-year-of-space-ai-compute-by-late-2027-from-its-satellites","publisher":"Tom's Hardware","quote":""}],"slips":[]},{"target":"2030 (Musk)","title":"100 GW per year of orbital AI compute","kind":"announced","sources":[{"url":"https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/artificial-intelligence/spacex-acquires-xai-in-a-bid-to-make-orbiting-data-centers-a-reality-musk-plans-to-launch-a-million-tons-of-satellites-annually-targets-1tw-year-of-space-based-compute-capacity","publisher":"Tom's Hardware","quote":""}],"slips":[]}],"funding":[],"filings":[{"body":"FCC","date":"2026-01-30","what":"SpaceX Orbital Data Center System, up to 1,000,000 satellites (file SAT-LOA-20260108-00016); accepted for filing DA 26-113 on 2026-02-04; comments due 2026-03-06; the 20260108 in the file number is the ICFS record date","sources":[{"url":"https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-26-113A1.txt","publisher":"FCC","quote":""},{"url":"https://satnews.com/2026/01/31/spacex-files-fcc-application-for-million-satellite-orbital-data-center/","publisher":"SatNews","quote":""}]},{"body":"SEC","date":"2026-05-20","what":"IPO prospectus (424B4, 2026-06-12) and a free writing prospectus (2026-06-09): risk factor on orbital data center viability; \"as early as 2028\"","sources":[{"url":"https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1181412/000162828026036936/spaceexplorationtechnologi.htm","publisher":"US SEC","quote":""},{"url":"https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1181412/000162828026041761/fwp_cfointerview.htm","publisher":"US SEC (free writing prospectus, filed 2026-06-09)","quote":""}]}],"people":["Elon Musk (CEO)","Bret Johnsen (CFO)","Ian Dahl (Director of Satellite Engineering)","Michael Nicolls (xAI president, reported 2026-04-09; formerly SVP Starlink)"],"watchFor":"Whether a first orbital compute satellite launches in 2027, and how the FCC rules on the 1,000,000-satellite application.","cautions":["Wide gap between executive statements (Davos: two to three years; 100 GW per year by 2030) and the S-1 risk language.","AI1 specs and the Gigasat 1 GW per year target come from secondary press.","Space Force $2.29B Space Data Network contract (2026-05-27) is for moving data, not computing; context only.","Timing differs by source: the CFO said 'next year' on 2026-09-10; the IPO prospectus says deployment could begin as early as 2028."]}],"timeline":[{"date":"2016-10-16","sortKey":"2016-10-16","programIds":[],"orgs":["NASA (NEPP)"],"title":"Proton testing of the NVIDIA Jetson TX1","detail":"Single-event-effects testing with 200 MeV protons; later work covered TX2, Xavier and Orin.","status":"achieved","kind":"study","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20170009004","publisher":"NASA Technical Reports Server","quote":"Single-Event Effects (SEE) testing on the nVidia Jetson TX1 System on Chip ... using 200MeV protons."}]},{"date":"2017-08-14","sortKey":"2017-08-14","programIds":["hpe-spaceborne-computer"],"orgs":["HPE Spaceborne Computer"],"title":"Spaceborne Computer-1 to the ISS on CRS-12","detail":"About 1 teraFLOP; 9 of 20 SSDs failed during the mission.","status":"achieved","kind":"flown","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.hpcwire.com/off-the-wire/hpes-spaceborne-computer-powers-space-achieves-one-teraflop/","publisher":"HPCwire","quote":"HPE's Spaceborne Computer is the first high performance commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) computer system to run one teraFLOP at the International Space Station."},{"url":"https://issnationallab.org/iss360/supercomputing-in-space-hpes-spaceborne-computer-returns/","publisher":"ISS National Lab","quote":""},{"url":"https://www.theregister.com/2024/01/24/updated_hpe_spaceborne_computer2/","publisher":"The Register","quote":"nine of the 20 SSDs"}],"launchKey":"CRS-12 (2017-08-14)"},{"date":"2019-12","sortKey":"2019-12-28","programIds":["orbitsedge"],"orgs":["OrbitsEdge"],"title":"HPE OEM agreement; SatFrame with 19-inch rack","detail":"","status":"achieved","kind":"announced","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://orbitsedge.com/in-the-news","publisher":"OrbitsEdge","quote":"OrbitsEdge partners with HPE on orbital data center computing and analytics"}]},{"date":"2020-09-02","sortKey":"2020-09-02","programIds":[],"orgs":["ESA","Intel","Ubotica","cosine"],"title":"PhiSat-1: onboard neural network screens out cloudy images","detail":"Intel Movidius Myriad 2; widely credited as the first satellite with an onboard deep neural network; about 30% downlink saved.","status":"achieved","kind":"flown","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/newsroom/news/first-satellite-ai.html","publisher":"Intel","quote":"Space is the ultimate edge."}],"launchKey":"PhiSat-1 launch (2020-09)"},{"date":"2021-02-20","sortKey":"2021-02-20","programIds":["hpe-spaceborne-computer","microsoft-azure-space"],"orgs":["HPE Spaceborne Computer","Microsoft Azure Space (orbital edge precursors)"],"title":"Spaceborne Computer-2 to the ISS on NG-15, linked to Azure","detail":"Genomics test processed 182 GB on station and downlinked 13 MB.","status":"achieved","kind":"flown","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/genomics-testing-on-the-iss-with-hpe-spaceborne-computer2-and-azure/","publisher":"Microsoft Azure","quote":""},{"url":"https://www.space.com/spaceborne-computer-2-microsoft-hpe-launching-to-space-station","publisher":"Space.com","quote":""},{"url":"https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/connecting-azure-to-the-international-space-station-with-hewlett-packard-enterprise/","publisher":"Microsoft Azure","quote":"Microsoft connected its cloud computing Azure Space platform to the Spaceborne Computer-2"}],"launchKey":"NG-15 (2021-02-20)"},{"date":"2021-05","sortKey":"2021-05-28","programIds":["space-compass"],"orgs":["Space Compass (NTT and SKY Perfect JSAT)"],"title":"NTT and SKY Perfect JSAT plan space data centers: satellites in 2025, operations in 2026","detail":"This timeline slipped.","status":"slipped","kind":"announced","confidence":"reported","sources":[{"url":"https://www.telecoms.com/public-cloud/ntt-to-launch-data-centres-into-space-within-five-years","publisher":"Telecoms.com","quote":"The companies plan to launch the satellites in 2025, and begin operations in 2026"}]},{"date":"2021-06-30","sortKey":"2021-06-30","programIds":["unibap-spacecloud"],"orgs":["Unibap SpaceCloud"],"title":"SpaceCloud iX5 on D-Orbit ION Wild Ride (Transporter-2)","detail":"Hosted third-party apps; D-Orbit reported its Nebula in-orbit cloud demo from the same flight.","status":"achieved","kind":"flown","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2021/10/11/2312019/0/en/Nebula-an-Innovative-In-Orbit-Cloud-Computing-and-Storage-Platform-is-Successfully-Demonstrated-in-Space.html","publisher":"GlobeNewswire","quote":"Nebula, an Innovative In-Orbit Cloud Computing and Storage Platform, is Successfully Demonstrated in Space"}],"launchKey":"Transporter-2 (2021-06-30)"},{"date":"2021-12-17","sortKey":"2021-12-17","programIds":["lonestar-data-holdings"],"orgs":["Lonestar Data Holdings"],"title":"First software-defined payload test on the ISS","detail":"Ran an Ubuntu VM on an existing ISS server.","status":"achieved","kind":"software","confidence":"reported","sources":[{"url":"https://www.satelliteevolution.com/post/lonestar-brings-the-edge-of-the-cloud-to-space-via-software-defined-payload-at-the-iss","publisher":"Satellite Evolution","quote":"The first software defined payload was sent to the ISS December 17th 2021"}]},{"date":"2022-01","sortKey":"2022-01-28","programIds":["aws-orbital-edge","d-orbit-ion-compute"],"orgs":["Amazon Web Services (orbital edge precursors)","D-Orbit ION in-orbit computing"],"title":"AWS edge software runs on a D-Orbit ION carrier with a Unibap computer","detail":"42% image size reduction reported.","status":"achieved","kind":"software","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.edgeir.com/aws-d-orbit-unibap-collaborate-to-bring-edge-computing-to-space-20221201","publisher":"Edge Industry Review","quote":"Providing users real-time access to AWS edge services on orbit will allow them to gain more timely insights"}]},{"date":"2022-04-08","sortKey":"2022-04-08","programIds":["axiom-space-odc","aws-orbital-edge"],"orgs":["Axiom Space Orbital Data Center","Amazon Web Services (orbital edge precursors)"],"title":"AWS Snowcone runs ML on the ISS during Ax-1","detail":"Earlier precursor on Axiom Mission 1.","status":"achieved","kind":"flown","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.axiomspace.com/news/snowcone","publisher":"Axiom Space","quote":""},{"url":"https://techcrunch.com/2022/06/23/aws-sent-a-snowcone-to-space/","publisher":"TechCrunch","quote":""}],"launchKey":"Ax-1 (2022-04-08)"},{"date":"2022-05-25","sortKey":"2022-05-25","programIds":[],"orgs":["NASA","MIT Lincoln Laboratory"],"title":"TBIRD CubeSat launched; later reached a 200 Gbps optical downlink (2023-04-28)","detail":"Up to 4.8 TB in a single pass using commercial fiber-optic transceivers.","status":"achieved","kind":"context","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/20230007959","publisher":"NASA Technical Reports Server","quote":"has successfully demonstrated 200 Gbps laser communications from a 6U CubeSat and has transferred up to 4.8 terabytes (TB) in a pass from low Earth orbit."}]},{"date":"2023-01-01","sortKey":"2023-01-01","programIds":["ascend-thales-alenia"],"orgs":["ASCEND study (Thales Alenia Space-led)"],"title":"ASCEND project starts (CORDIS 101082517); ends 2024-04-30","detail":"Consortium: Thales Alenia Space (coordinator), Carbone 4, VITO, Orange Business, CloudFerro, HPE Belgium, ArianeGroup, DLR, Airbus Defence and Space.","status":"achieved","kind":"study","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101082517","publisher":"EU CORDIS","quote":"placing future data centre capacity in orbit, using solar energy outside the earth's atmosphere, will substantially lower the carbon footprint of digitalization"}]},{"date":"2023-01","sortKey":"2023-01-28","programIds":["bupt-tiansuan"],"orgs":["Tiansuan Constellation (BUPT)"],"title":"First primary satellite BUPT-1 launched","detail":"","status":"achieved","kind":"flown","confidence":"reported","sources":[{"url":"http://www.bjreview.com/Latest_Headlines/202609/t20260901_800445364.html","publisher":"Beijing Review","quote":""}],"launchKey":"BUPT-1 launch (2023-01)"},{"date":"2023-03-03","sortKey":"2023-03-03","programIds":[],"orgs":["Caltech"],"title":"SSPD-1 MAPLE: first wireless power transfer in space","detail":"Launched 2023-01-03 on Transporter-6; relevant to designs that beam power between collectors and compute.","status":"achieved","kind":"context","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.caltech.edu/about/news/in-a-first-caltechs-space-solar-power-demonstrator-wirelessly-transmits-power-in-space","publisher":"Caltech","quote":"In a First, Caltech's Space Solar Power Demonstrator Wirelessly Transmits Power in Space"}]},{"date":"2023-03-06","sortKey":"2023-03-06","programIds":["lonestar-data-holdings"],"orgs":["Lonestar Data Holdings"],"title":"$5M seed","detail":"Led by Scout Ventures.","status":"achieved","kind":"funding","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.theregister.com/2023/03/07/lonestar_secures_funding_for_lunar/","publisher":"The Register","quote":"The $5m is financing our first two missions this year"},{"url":"https://spacenews.com/lonestar-raises-5-million-for-lunar-data-centers/","publisher":"SpaceNews","quote":""},{"url":"https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lonestar-data-holdings-inc-successfully-completes-5m-in-oversubscribed-seed-financing-301762600.html","publisher":"PR Newswire","quote":"ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., March 6, 2023"}]},{"date":"2023-06-28","sortKey":"2023-06-28","programIds":["ramon-space"],"orgs":["Ramon.Space"],"title":"$26M Series B led by Ingrasys and Abu Dhabi's Strategic Development Fund","detail":"","status":"achieved","kind":"funding","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://ramon.space/press/ramon-space-raises-26m-to-fuel-the-new-era-of-space-computing-infrastructure/","publisher":"Ramon.Space","quote":""},{"url":"https://www.grovevc.com/news/ramonspace-26m-for-on-orbit-computing/","publisher":"Grove Ventures","quote":""}]},{"date":"2023-11","sortKey":"2023-11-28","programIds":["kp-labs-leopard"],"orgs":["KP Labs (Leopard DPU)"],"title":"Intuition-1 launched with Leopard DPU","detail":"","status":"achieved","kind":"flown","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.eoportal.org/satellite-missions/intuition-1","publisher":"eoPortal","quote":"Leopard data processing unit (DPU), which is capable of three trillion operations per second"}],"launchKey":"Intuition-1 launch (2023-11)"},{"date":"2023-12-19","sortKey":"2023-12-19","programIds":["axiom-space-odc"],"orgs":["Axiom Space Orbital Data Center"],"title":"ODC plan announced: ISS prototype, then a half-cubic-meter rack by 2027","detail":"","status":"achieved","kind":"announced","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://axiomspace.com/release/orbital-data-center","publisher":"Axiom Space","quote":"the roughly half-cubic-meter sized data server rack we plan to launch by 2027"}]},{"date":"2024-01-30","sortKey":"2024-01-30","programIds":["hpe-spaceborne-computer"],"orgs":["HPE Spaceborne Computer"],"title":"Upgraded SBC-2 to the ISS on NG-20 with over 130 TB of flash","detail":"Most data storage flown to the ISS on one mission (HPE and ISS National Lab).","status":"achieved","kind":"flown","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.hpe.com/us/en/newsroom/press-release/2024/01/hpe-spaceborne-computer-2-returns-to-the-international-space-station.html","publisher":"Hewlett Packard Enterprise","quote":"over 130 TB of flash-based storage from KIOXIA, the most storage to ever travel to the space station on a single mission"},{"url":"https://issnationallab.org/press-releases/release-ng20-hpe-spaceborne-computer2/","publisher":"ISS National Lab","quote":""}],"launchKey":"NG-20 (2024-01-30)"},{"date":"2024-02-22","sortKey":"2024-02-22","programIds":["lonestar-data-holdings"],"orgs":["Lonestar Data Holdings"],"title":"Independence payload: data storage test from the lunar surface (IM-1)","detail":"Launched 2024-02-15 on Odysseus; store-and-return test after landing.","status":"achieved","kind":"flown","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lonestar-data-holdings-independence-payload-makes-history-with-successful-test-of-data-storage-concept-from-the-surface-of-the-moon-302074489.html","publisher":"PR Newswire","quote":"Successfully completed the first ever data center test in their proof-of-concept demonstration"}],"launchKey":"IM-1 (2024-02-15)"},{"date":"2024-03-04","sortKey":"2024-03-04","programIds":[],"orgs":["Ubotica","Open Cosmos"],"title":"CogniSAT-6: sustained onboard AI inference","detail":"Ubotica reported over 100,000 onboard inferences in its first year.","status":"achieved","kind":"flown","confidence":"single-source","sources":[{"url":"https://ubotica.com/one-year-of-cognisat-6-pioneering-live-earth-intelligence/","publisher":"Ubotica","quote":"executing over 100,000 AI inferences"}],"launchKey":"CogniSAT-6 launch (2024-03-04)"},{"date":"2024-06-27","sortKey":"2024-06-27","programIds":["ascend-thales-alenia"],"orgs":["ASCEND study (Thales Alenia Space-led)"],"title":"Results: feasible if a launcher about 10x less emissive over its life cycle is developed","detail":"","status":"achieved","kind":"study","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.thalesaleniaspace.com/en/press-releases/thales-alenia-space-reveals-results-ascend-feasibility-study-space-data-centers-0","publisher":"Thales Alenia Space","quote":"space infrastructures would require the development of a launcher ten times less emissive over its entire lifecycle"}]},{"date":"2024-07-11","sortKey":"2024-07-11","programIds":["booz-allen-space-llm"],"orgs":["Booz Allen Hamilton (LLMs on the ISS)"],"title":"LLM application operational on SBC-2 (announced 2024-08-01)","detail":"Retrieval-augmented generation app; inference on the ISS, not a free-flying satellite.","status":"achieved","kind":"software","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.nextgov.com/artificial-intelligence/2024/08/generative-ai-tool-deployed-aboard-international-space-station/398506/","publisher":"Nextgov","quote":"deemed fully operational on July 11, according to a company spokesperson"}]},{"date":"2024-08-16","sortKey":"2024-08-16","programIds":["aethero"],"orgs":["Aethero"],"title":"Deimos launched on Transporter-11","detail":"18-month SSO mission for onboard inference and edge training.","status":"achieved","kind":"flown","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://www.aethero.com/news/press-release-deimos-satellite-launch","publisher":"Aethero","quote":"first space-rated edge computer to achieve 100 TOPS"}],"launchKey":"Transporter-11 (2024-08-16)"},{"date":"2024-08-16","sortKey":"2024-08-16","programIds":[],"orgs":["ESA","Open Cosmos","Ubotica"],"title":"PhiSat-2: AI apps uploadable from the ground","detail":"","status":"achieved","kind":"flown","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/Phsat-2","publisher":"ESA","quote":"combines a multispectral camera with a computer that allows AI apps to run onboard"}],"launchKey":"Transporter-11 (2024-08-16)"},{"date":"2024-03","sortKey":"2024-03-28","programIds":["microsoft-azure-space"],"orgs":["Microsoft Azure Space (orbital edge precursors)"],"title":"IMAGIN-e edge computing payload launched to the ISS","detail":"Thales Alenia Space hardware running a Microsoft on-orbit application framework.","status":"achieved","kind":"flown","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.thalesaleniaspace.com/en/news/imagin-e-payload-unlocks-potential-space-edge-computing-aboard-iss","publisher":"Thales Alenia Space","quote":"Launched in March 2024"}],"launchKey":"IMAGIN-e launch (2024-03)"},{"date":"2024-09","sortKey":"2024-09-28","programIds":["ada-space-star-compute"],"orgs":["ADA Space Star Compute"],"title":"Claims China's first AI large model computing satellite","detail":"","status":"achieved","kind":"flown","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://finance.sina.com.cn/wm/2026-05-15/doc-inhxycci6224455.shtml","publisher":"Sina Finance","quote":"China's first AI large model computing satellite"}],"launchKey":"ADA Space satellite (2024-09)"},{"date":"2024-10-09","sortKey":"2024-10-09","programIds":["cowboy-space"],"orgs":["Cowboy Space Corporation"],"title":"Aetherflux publicly announced","detail":"Founded by Robinhood co-founder Baiju Bhatt.","status":"achieved","kind":"announced","confidence":"reported","sources":[{"url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cowboy_Space_Corporation","publisher":"Wikipedia","quote":""}]},{"date":"2024-12-11","sortKey":"2024-12-11","programIds":["starcloud"],"orgs":["Starcloud"],"title":"$11M seed as Lumen Orbit","detail":"Seed out of Y Combinator S24; reported $40M valuation.","status":"achieved","kind":"funding","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://techcrunch.com/2024/12/11/200-vcs-wanted-to-get-into-lumen-orbits-11m-seed-round","publisher":"TechCrunch","quote":"Lumen Orbit closed on an $11 million seed round"},{"url":"https://www.geekwire.com/2025/lumen-orbit-starcloud-10m-space-data-centers/","publisher":"GeekWire","quote":""}]},{"date":"2024-12-30","sortKey":"2024-12-30","programIds":["takeme2space"],"orgs":["TakeMe2Space"],"title":"MOI-TD flown as a hosted payload on PSLV-C60 POEM-4","detail":"","status":"achieved","kind":"flown","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://www.tm2.space/missions","publisher":"TakeMe2Space","quote":"India's first AI-lab in space. 20+ experiments executed in LEO"},{"url":"https://www.isro.gov.in/POEM_4_Payloads_spadex.html","publisher":"ISRO","quote":"A total of 24 payloads will be flown in this POEM-4 mission"}],"launchKey":"PSLV-C60 (2024-12-30)"},{"date":"2025-02-26","sortKey":"2025-02-26","programIds":["lonestar-data-holdings","spacebilt"],"orgs":["Lonestar Data Holdings","Spacebilt"],"title":"Freedom payload launched on IM-2 Athena","detail":"8 TB storage payload on Falcon 9.","status":"achieved","kind":"flown","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lunar-data-center-achieves-first-success-en-route-to-the-moon-302392544.html","publisher":"PR Newswire","quote":"Lonestar launched its Freedom data center payload onboard the Athena Lunar Lander"},{"url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IM-2","publisher":"Wikipedia","quote":""},{"url":"https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/storage/phison-and-lonestar-launched-cornerstone-of-lunar-data-center-into-space-last-night-lands-on-the-moon-in-early-march","publisher":"Tom's Hardware","quote":"The lunar data center was constructed for Lonestar by SpaceBilt"}],"launchKey":"IM-2 (2025-02-26)"},{"date":"2025-02-26","sortKey":"2025-02-26","programIds":["starcloud"],"orgs":["Starcloud"],"title":"$10M seed extension and rebrand to Starcloud","detail":"Total seed $21M; renamed from Lumen Orbit.","status":"achieved","kind":"funding","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/lumen-orbit-rebrands-to-starcloud-raises-another-10m-for-in-orbit-data-centers/","publisher":"DatacenterDynamics","quote":"Lumen Orbit rebrands to Starcloud, raises another $10m for in-orbit data centers"},{"url":"https://americanbazaaronline.com/2025/02/28/nvidia-partners-with-space-data-center-startup-secures-extra-10-million460102/","publisher":"American Bazaar","quote":"secured an additional $10 million, bringing its total seed funding to $21 million"},{"url":"https://cosmiclog.com/2025/02/26/starcloud-raises-another-10m-for-data-centers-in-space/","publisher":"Cosmic Log","quote":"it can be thought of as a $21M seed"}]},{"date":"2025-03-05","sortKey":"2025-03-05","programIds":["lonestar-data-holdings"],"orgs":["Lonestar Data Holdings"],"title":"In-transit storage and edge-processing tests completed","detail":"Company says tests ran en route to the Moon.","status":"achieved","kind":"result","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lunar-data-center-achieves-first-success-en-route-to-the-moon-302392544.html","publisher":"PR Newswire","quote":"This is our Kitty Hawk moment."}]},{"date":"2025-03-06","sortKey":"2025-03-06","programIds":["lonestar-data-holdings"],"orgs":["Lonestar Data Holdings"],"title":"Athena landed on its side; lander operations ended less than 13 hours after landing","detail":"Lonestar said its payload was intact; no surface data operations confirmed.","status":"failed","kind":"result","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IM-2","publisher":"Wikipedia","quote":"lander operations ended at 1:15 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order.","status":"achieved","kind":"announced","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://sidusspace.com/2025/04/02/sidus-space-signs-extended-and-amended-preliminary-120m-agreement-with-lonestar-for-lunar-data-storage-spacecraft/","publisher":"Sidus Space","quote":"approximately $120 million with Lonestar Data Holdings to design, build and provide on-orbit support for six lunar data storage spacecraft"}]},{"date":"2025-04-02","sortKey":"2025-04-02","programIds":["cowboy-space"],"orgs":["Cowboy Space Corporation"],"title":"$50M Series A for a 2026 space solar demo","detail":"Co-led by Index Ventures and Interlagos.","status":"achieved","kind":"funding","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/02/space-solar-startup-aetherflux-raises-50m-to-launch-first-space-demo-in-2026/","publisher":"TechCrunch","quote":"Space solar startup Aetherflux raises $50M to launch first space demo in 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Lab.","status":"achieved","kind":"flown","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"http://www.news.cn/tech/20250514/eca3ecd7bb4142dc9a803b9c3a3b72d8/c.html","publisher":"Xinhua","quote":"将人工智能送上太空！我国太空计算卫星星座成功发射"},{"url":"https://news.cgtn.com/news/2025-05-14/China-launches-first-batch-of-space-computing-satellite-constellation-1DmXIysPKww/p.html","publisher":"CGTN","quote":""},{"url":"https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/chinas-adaspace-orbits-first-12-ai-cloud-satellites-of-2800-strong-constellation/","publisher":"DatacenterDynamics","quote":""}],"launchKey":"Long March 2D (2025-05-14)"},{"date":"2025-05-21","sortKey":"2025-05-21","programIds":["zhejiang-lab-three-body"],"orgs":["Three-Body Computing Constellation (Zhejiang Lab)"],"title":"Director targets over 50 computing satellites in 2025 and about 100 by 2027","detail":"The 2025 target was not met.","status":"slipped","kind":"announced","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://www.cls.cn/detail/2037179","publisher":"Cailian Press","quote":"今年将布局超50颗计算卫星星座"}]},{"date":"2025-05-19","sortKey":"2025-05-19","programIds":["sophia-space"],"orgs":["Sophia Space"],"title":"$3.5M pre-seed","detail":"Led by Unlock Ventures.","status":"achieved","kind":"funding","confidence":"reported","sources":[{"url":"https://www.geekwire.com/2025/new-space-startup-with-several-seattle-ties-lands-3-5m-to-develop-orbital-data-centers/","publisher":"GeekWire","quote":"raised $3.5 million in pre-seed funding"},{"url":"https://sophia.space/news/sophia-space-closes-pre-seed-financing","publisher":"Sophia Space","quote":"$3.5 million Pre-Seed round"}]},{"date":"2025-05","sortKey":"2025-05-28","programIds":["relativity-space"],"orgs":["Relativity Space"],"title":"Schmidt confirms on X that orbital data centers motivated the purchase","detail":"One-word reply to a 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Ventures.","status":"achieved","kind":"funding","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250610441726/en/Aethero-Secures-$8.4M-to-Build-the-Next-Generation-of-Space-Based-Computing-and-Autonomous-Spacecraft","publisher":"Business Wire","quote":""}]},{"date":"2025-06","sortKey":"2025-06-28","programIds":["orbitsedge"],"orgs":["OrbitsEdge"],"title":"Syntilay and Copernic first orbital mission announced for early 2026","detail":"","status":"achieved","kind":"announced","confidence":"reported","sources":[{"url":"https://payloadspace.com/orbitsedges-first-mission-to-space-is-a-shoe-in/","publisher":"Payload","quote":""}]},{"date":"2025-08-24","sortKey":"2025-08-24","programIds":["axiom-space-odc","ibm-red-hat"],"orgs":["Axiom Space Orbital Data Center","IBM and Red Hat (orbital software)"],"title":"AxDCU-1 prototype to the ISS on CRS-33 with Red Hat","detail":"Kubernetes (MicroShift) in orbit; ISS National Lab 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targeted for 2027.","status":"achieved","kind":"announced","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.axiomspace.com/release/axiom-space-spacebilt-announce-orbital-data-center-node","publisher":"Axiom Space","quote":""},{"url":"https://spacenews.com/axiom-and-spacebilt-to-establish-iss-data-center-node/","publisher":"SpaceNews","quote":""}]},{"date":"2025-10-03","sortKey":"2025-10-03","programIds":["blue-origin-project-sunrise"],"orgs":["Blue Origin Project Sunrise"],"title":"Bezos: gigawatt training clusters in space within 10 to 20 years","detail":"Italian Tech Week.","status":"achieved","kind":"announced","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.techzine.eu/news/infrastructure/135156/bezos-predicts-data-centers-in-space-within-20-years/","publisher":"Techzine","quote":""},{"url":"https://www.geekwire.com/2025/jeff-bezos-orbital-data-centers-next-step/","publisher":"GeekWire","quote":"I bet it's not more than 20 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Orbit about 495 x 503 km; still in orbit as of 2026-10-03.","status":"achieved","kind":"flown","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/starcloud-1.htm","publisher":"Gunter's Space Page","quote":"the first Nvidia H100 GPU ever deployed in space"},{"url":"https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0002087446/000121390026103789/ea030673101ex99-2.htm","publisher":"US SEC","quote":"the first NVIDIA H100 GPU into orbit"},{"url":"https://celestrak.org/satcat/records.php?CATNR=66303","publisher":"CelesTrak","quote":""}],"launchKey":"Bandwagon-4 (2025-11-02)"},{"date":"2025-11-03","sortKey":"2025-11-03","programIds":["spacex-orbital-compute"],"orgs":["SpaceX orbital compute (with xAI)"],"title":"Musk: SpaceX will do data centers in space by scaling Starlink V3","detail":"Reply on X.","status":"achieved","kind":"announced","confidence":"reported","sources":[{"url":"https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/elon-musk-says-spacex-will-be-doing-data-centers-in-space/","publisher":"DatacenterDynamics","quote":"Simply scaling up Starlink V3 satellites, which have high speed laser links would work. SpaceX will be doing this."}]},{"date":"2025-11-04","sortKey":"2025-11-04","programIds":["google-project-suncatcher"],"orgs":["Google Project Suncatcher"],"title":"Project Suncatcher announced with a preprint","detail":"TPU proton radiation results, a 1.6 Tbps bench optical link, an illustrative 81-satellite cluster and launch-cost analysis.","status":"achieved","kind":"announced","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://research.google/blog/exploring-a-space-based-scalable-ai-infrastructure-system-design/","publisher":"Google Research","quote":"A bench-scale demonstrator achieved 800 Gbps each-way transmission (1.6 Tbps total) using a single transceiver pair"},{"url":"https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.19468","publisher":"arXiv","quote":""}]},{"date":"2025-11-04","sortKey":"2025-11-04","programIds":["google-project-suncatcher","planet-labs"],"orgs":["Google Project Suncatcher","Planet Labs"],"title":"Planet named as prototype partner; plan of two prototypes by early 2027","detail":"","status":"achieved","kind":"announced","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/technology/research/google-project-suncatcher/","publisher":"Google","quote":"Our next step is a learning mission in partnership with Planet to launch two prototype satellites by early 2027 that will test our hardware in orbit."}]},{"date":"2025-11-18","sortKey":"2025-11-18","programIds":["madari-space"],"orgs":["Madari Space"],"title":"MoU with INNOSPACE (Korea) at Dubai Airshow","detail":"","status":"achieved","kind":"announced","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://news.satnews.com/2025/11/18/innospace-signs-mou-with-uaes-madari-space-for-space-data-center-development/","publisher":"SatNews","quote":"INNOSPACE signs MoU with UAE's Madari Space for Space Data Center development"}]},{"date":"2025-11","sortKey":"2025-11-28","programIds":["ada-space-star-compute"],"orgs":["ADA Space Star Compute"],"title":"Alibaba Qwen3 inference tested on a constellation satellite","detail":"ADA Space says it deployed Qwen3 to its Group 01 computing satellites in November 2025 (company executive, 2026-01-26); inference, not training. Query uplinked, answer returned in under two minutes (reported).","status":"achieved","kind":"result","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3341388/alibabas-qwen-3-becomes-worlds-first-ai-model-operate-orbit","publisher":"South China Morning Post","quote":"Alibaba's Qwen-3 becomes one of world's first AI models to operate in orbit"},{"url":"https://www.jiemian.com/article/13938719.html","publisher":"Jiemian","quote":"2025年11月，国星宇航成功将千问3（Qwen3）大模型部署至星算计划01组太空计算中心"}]},{"date":"2025-11-28","sortKey":"2025-11-28","programIds":["orbital-chenguang"],"orgs":["Orbital Chenguang (Beijing space data center)"],"title":"Beijing announces gigawatt-class space data center plan at 700 to 800 km, three phases to 2035","detail":"","status":"achieved","kind":"announced","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://english.news.cn/20251128/c7285192375c47c3987114c1b7eeba46/c.html","publisher":"Xinhua","quote":"a strategic integration of commercial space and AI"}]},{"date":"2025-11-28","sortKey":"2025-11-28","programIds":["unibap-spacecloud"],"orgs":["Unibap SpaceCloud"],"title":"iX10 flew on D-Orbit \"We Need More Space\" mission","detail":"","status":"achieved","kind":"flown","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://unibap.com/solutions/space-missions/we-need-more-space/","publisher":"Unibap","quote":"Unibap Hardware: iX10"}],"launchKey":"D-Orbit ION (2025-11-28)"},{"date":"2025-12-04","sortKey":"2025-12-04","programIds":["openai"],"orgs":["OpenAI (skeptic)"],"title":"Altman reportedly explored a large investment in Stoke Space for space data centers","detail":"Talks reported as no longer active.","status":"achieved","kind":"announced","confidence":"reported","sources":[{"url":"https://www.geekwire.com/2025/openai-ceo-stoke-space-data-center/","publisher":"GeekWire","quote":"Altman approached rocket maker Stoke Space over the summer, with discussions gaining momentum in the fall."}]},{"date":"2025-12-09","sortKey":"2025-12-09","programIds":["cowboy-space"],"orgs":["Cowboy Space Corporation"],"title":"Galactic Brain orbital data center announced; first commercial node targeted for Q1 2027","detail":"Solar-powered GPU satellites.","status":"achieved","kind":"announced","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/aetherflux-announces-orbital-data-center-targets-q1-2027-302635961.html","publisher":"PR Newswire","quote":"The race for artificial general intelligence is fundamentally a race for compute capacity, and by extension, energy."}]},{"date":"2025-12-10","sortKey":"2025-12-10","programIds":["powerbank-orbit-ai"],"orgs":["PowerBank and Smartlink AI (Orbit AI)"],"title":"Genesis-1 launch claimed (company release; unverified)","detail":"No rocket, launch site or tracking ID has been published; the only launch that day (Kinetica-1 Y11) lists no such payload. The companies plan 5 to 8 more satellites in 2026.","status":"achieved","kind":"announced","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/powerbank-announces-launch-of-the-first-satellite-in-the-orbital-cloud-project-with-smartlink-ai-302638862.html","publisher":"PR Newswire","quote":""},{"url":"https://www.nasdaq.com/press-release/powerbank-shares-updates-successful-rocket-launch-orbital-cloud-initiative-smartlink","publisher":"Nasdaq (PowerBank release)","quote":""}]},{"date":"2025-12-11","sortKey":"2025-12-11","programIds":["k2-space"],"orgs":["K2 Space"],"title":"$250M Series C at $3B valuation; Giga class aimed at AI compute on orbit","detail":"Led by Redpoint.","status":"achieved","kind":"funding","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/k2-space-raises-250m-at-3b-valuation-to-roll-out-a-new-class-of-high-capability-satellites-302638936.html","publisher":"PR Newswire","quote":"AI scale compute on orbit"}]},{"date":"2025-12","sortKey":"2025-12-10","programIds":["starcloud"],"orgs":["Starcloud"],"title":"Gemma inference and nanoGPT training on Starcloud-1","detail":"Company says it ran Google Gemma and trained a small nanoGPT model on the works of Shakespeare; reported by CNBC on 2025-12-10. Not independently verified.","status":"achieved","kind":"result","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://www.starcloud.com/starcloud-1","publisher":"Starcloud","quote":"First spacecraft to train an LLM (nano GPT model)"},{"url":"https://www.cnbc.com/2025/12/10/nvidia-backed-starcloud-trains-first-ai-model-in-space-orbital-data-centers.html","publisher":"CNBC","quote":""}]},{"date":"2024","sortKey":"2024-12-28","programIds":["skyserve"],"orgs":["SkyServe (STORM)"],"title":"STORM deployed on Denali and Matterhorn missions","detail":"Denali on Loft Orbital YAM-6; Matterhorn on D-Orbit ION.","status":"achieved","kind":"software","confidence":"reported","sources":[{"url":"https://inc42.com/startups/how-skyserve-is-bringing-real-time-analytics-to-satellite-data-processing/","publisher":"Inc42","quote":"deployed earlier this year in two of the startup's missions, Denali and Matterhorn"}]},{"date":"2026-01-11","sortKey":"2026-01-11","programIds":["axiom-space-odc","kepler-compute"],"orgs":["Axiom Space Orbital Data Center","Kepler Communications (Kepler Compute)"],"title":"ODC Nodes 1 and 2 launched on Kepler Tranche 1","detail":"Falcon 9 from Vandenberg; Axiom workload results not published.","status":"achieved","kind":"flown","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/01/11/3216480/0/en/kepler-successfully-launches-first-tranche-of-optical-relay-satellites.html","publisher":"GlobeNewswire","quote":""},{"url":"https://spacenews.com/axiom-space-to-launch-orbital-data-centers-on-kepler-satellites/","publisher":"SpaceNews","quote":""},{"url":"https://kepler.space/kepler-successfully-launches-first-tranche-of-optical-relay-satellites/","publisher":"Kepler Communications","quote":"Our optical relay satellites make it possible for users to rapidly deploy their missions with a real-time, connected, cloud environment."}],"launchKey":"Kepler Tranche 1 (2026-01-11)"},{"date":"2026-01-12","sortKey":"2026-01-12","programIds":["takeme2space"],"orgs":["TakeMe2Space"],"title":"MOI-1 lost in PSLV-C62 third-stage anomaly","detail":"","status":"failed","kind":"failure","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.tm2.space/missions","publisher":"TakeMe2Space","quote":"Lost on 12 January 2026 when PSLV-C62 suffered a third-stage anomaly during ascent"}],"launchKey":"PSLV-C62 (2026-01-12)"},{"date":"2026-01-16","sortKey":"2026-01-16","programIds":["spaceblast"],"orgs":["SpaceBlast (JAXA orbital data center technology)"],"title":"Selected by JAXA Space Strategy Fund for orbital data center construction technology","detail":"Announced by the company 2026-01-26.","status":"achieved","kind":"study","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://spaceblast.co.jp/news/2011/","publisher":"SpaceBlast","quote":"高信頼性エッジコンピューティングによる軌道上データセンターの構築"}]},{"date":"2026-01-21","sortKey":"2026-01-21","programIds":["blue-origin-project-sunrise"],"orgs":["Blue Origin Project Sunrise"],"title":"TeraWave announced: 5,408-satellite LEO and MEO network","detail":"Communications, not compute; deployment from Q4 2027.","status":"achieved","kind":"announced","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.cnbc.com/2026/01/21/bezos-blue-origin-satellite-internet-spacex-amazon.html","publisher":"CNBC","quote":"Deployment of satellites is planned to begin in the last quarter of 2027"}]},{"date":"2026-01-22","sortKey":"2026-01-22","programIds":["spacex-orbital-compute"],"orgs":["SpaceX orbital compute (with xAI)"],"title":"Musk at Davos: space the cheapest place for AI within two to three years","detail":"Executive statement.","status":"achieved","kind":"announced","confidence":"reported","sources":[{"url":"https://www.businesstoday.in/wef-2026/story/wef-summit-davos-2026-elon-musk-ai-data-centres-space-512507-2026-01-22","publisher":"Business Today","quote":"The lowest-cost place to run AI data centres will be in space, within two to three years."}]},{"date":"2026-01-14","sortKey":"2026-01-14","programIds":["lonestar-data-holdings"],"orgs":["Lonestar Data Holdings"],"title":"$6.6M seed-plus round; Stephen Eisele named CEO","detail":"Founder Chris Stott became executive chairman.","status":"achieved","kind":"funding","confidence":"reported","sources":[{"url":"https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/lunar-data-center-firm-lonestar-data-raises-66m-swaps-ceo/","publisher":"DatacenterDynamics","quote":"Lunar data center firm Lonestar Data raises $6.6m, swaps CEO"},{"url":"https://stpeteinnovationdistrict.com/blog/lonestar-shines-again","publisher":"St. Pete Innovation District","quote":"$6.6 million seed-plus funding round"}]},{"date":"2026-01","sortKey":"2026-01-28","programIds":["ada-space-star-compute"],"orgs":["ADA Space Star Compute"],"title":"Two experimental satellites lost in a launch failure (per prospectus)","detail":"One customer 3D-printed satellite and one internal test satellite.","status":"failed","kind":"failure","confidence":"reported","sources":[{"url":"https://m.rccaijing.com/news-7460919442005488833.html","publisher":"RC Caijing","quote":"the rocket encountered technical problems"}],"launchKey":"ADA Space launch failure (2026-01)"},{"date":"2026-01-08","sortKey":"2026-01-08","programIds":["takeme2space"],"orgs":["TakeMe2Space"],"title":"$5M seed led by Chiratae Ventures","detail":"Now seeking about $55M for a 50 kW orbital data center.","status":"achieved","kind":"funding","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://spacenews.com/indias-takeme2space-sets-sights-on-50-kilowatt-data-center/","publisher":"SpaceNews","quote":"India's TakeMe2Space sets sights on 50-kilowatt data center"},{"url":"https://www.whalesbook.com/news/English/technology/TakeMe2Space-to-Launch-Orbital-Data-Centres-on-SpaceX-Rocket-in-2028/6ab9e7835aacb956d0823f66","publisher":"Whalesbook","quote":""},{"url":"https://inc42.com/buzz/takeme2space-raises-5-mn-to-expand-its-satellite-constellation/","publisher":"Inc42","quote":"$5 million (approximately Rs 44.9 crore)"}]},{"date":"2026-01-29","sortKey":"2026-01-29","programIds":["casc-space-computing"],"orgs":["CASC and CAST space computing plan"],"title":"CASC plan via CCTV: gigawatt-class space digital-intelligence infrastructure","detail":"Reported by Reuters and Asia Financial.","status":"achieved","kind":"announced","confidence":"reported","sources":[{"url":"https://www.asiafinancial.com/china-planning-to-put-ai-data-centres-in-space-over-next-5-years","publisher":"Asia Financial","quote":"construct gigawatt-class space digital-intelligence infrastructure"},{"url":"https://news.qq.com/rain/a/20260129A04NLK00","publisher":"Tencent News (CCTV)","quote":"将建设吉瓦级太空数智基础设施"}]},{"date":"2026-01-30","sortKey":"2026-01-30","programIds":["spacex-orbital-compute"],"orgs":["SpaceX orbital compute (with xAI)"],"title":"FCC application for up to 1,000,000 orbital data center satellites","detail":"Shells between 500 and 2,000 km with optical links to Starlink; accepted for filing (DA 26-113) on 2026-02-04; nearly 1,500 comments (AAS).","status":"achieved","kind":"filing","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://satnews.com/2026/01/31/spacex-files-fcc-application-for-million-satellite-orbital-data-center/","publisher":"SatNews","quote":""},{"url":"https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-26-113A1.pdf","publisher":"FCC","quote":""},{"url":"https://aas.org/action-alert-provide-input-fcc-proposed-satellite-systems","publisher":"American Astronomical Society","quote":"Nearly 1500 comments have been submitted"}]},{"date":"2026-02-02","sortKey":"2026-02-02","programIds":["spacex-orbital-compute"],"orgs":["SpaceX orbital compute (with xAI)"],"title":"SpaceX acquires xAI to pursue orbital data centers","detail":"Combined value reported at about $1.25T. Musk memo: 100 GW per year of AI compute from a million tons of satellites a year.","status":"achieved","kind":"announced","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://spacenews.com/spacex-acquires-xai-in-bid-to-develop-orbital-data-centers/","publisher":"SpaceNews","quote":"Global electricity demand for AI simply cannot be met with terrestrial solutions, even in the near term, without imposing hardship on communities and the environment"}]},{"date":"2026-02-04","sortKey":"2026-02-04","programIds":["starcloud"],"orgs":["Starcloud"],"title":"FCC application for up to 88,000 satellites","detail":"Distributed data center constellation with laser links; accepted for filing 2026-03-13.","status":"achieved","kind":"filing","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://spacenews.com/starcloud-files-plans-for-88000-satellite-constellation/","publisher":"SpaceNews","quote":"as a distributed datacenter to train and operate artificial intelligence models and other cloud computing services"},{"url":"https://communicationsdaily.com/news/2026/04/17/starcloud-space-data-center-plan-sees-objections-and-criticisms-2604160014","publisher":"Communications Daily","quote":""},{"url":"https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-419509A1.txt","publisher":"FCC","quote":"Date filed: 2026-02-04"}]},{"date":"2026-02","sortKey":"2026-02-28","programIds":["agnikul-neevcloud"],"orgs":["Agnikul Cosmos and NeevCloud orbital edge data centers"],"title":"Partnership announced for an orbital AI data centre platform","detail":"","status":"achieved","kind":"announced","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://indianstartupnews.com/news/agnikul-cosmos-and-neevcloud-plans-to-launch-ai-data-centre-platform-in-low-earth-orbit-11103635","publisher":"Indian Startup News","quote":"India's first privately led orbital AI data centre platform in low-Earth orbit"}]},{"date":"2026-02-23","sortKey":"2026-02-23","programIds":["openai"],"orgs":["OpenAI (skeptic)"],"title":"Altman: orbital data centers \"ridiculous\" in the current landscape","detail":"Reported by Gizmodo and Techzine; will not matter at scale this decade.","status":"achieved","kind":"announced","confidence":"reported","sources":[{"url":"https://www.techzine.eu/news/infrastructure/138990/openai-ceo-sam-altman-expects-no-space-based-data-centers-this-decade/","publisher":"Techzine","quote":""},{"url":"https://gizmodo.com/heated-rivals-musk-and-altman-disagree-on-one-more-thing-data-centers-in-space-2000725311","publisher":"Gizmodo","quote":"I honestly think the idea with the current landscape of putting data centers in space is ridiculous"}]},{"date":"2026-02-24","sortKey":"2026-02-24","programIds":["sophia-space"],"orgs":["Sophia Space"],"title":"$10M seed","detail":"Led by Alpha Funds, KDDI Green Partners Fund and Unlock Venture Partners. TechCrunch reported it on 2026-02-26.","status":"achieved","kind":"funding","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://sophia.space/news/sophia-space-closes-10m-seed-round-to-accelerate-orbital-edge-computing","publisher":"Sophia Space","quote":"Sophia Space Closes $10M Seed Round to Accelerate Orbital Edge Computing"},{"url":"https://techcrunch.com/2026/02/26/sophia-space-raises-10m-seed-to-demo-novel-space-computers/","publisher":"TechCrunch","quote":""}]},{"date":"2026-02-26","sortKey":"2026-02-26","programIds":["rocket-lab"],"orgs":["Rocket Lab (supplier)"],"title":"Silicon solar arrays introduced for space-based data centers","detail":"","status":"achieved","kind":"announced","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://rocketlabcorp.com/updates/rocket-lab-introduces-advanced-silicon-solar-arrays-to-power-space-based-data-centers/","publisher":"Rocket Lab","quote":""}]},{"date":"2026-02","sortKey":"2026-02-28","programIds":["aws-orbital-edge"],"orgs":["Amazon Web Services (orbital edge precursors)"],"title":"Starcloud says it will fly AWS Outposts hardware on Starcloud-2","detail":"Starcloud CEO statement; no AWS statement found.","status":"achieved","kind":"announced","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/starcloud-to-launch-aws-outposts-hardware-in-space-aims-to-deploy-fleet-of-88000-satellites/","publisher":"DatacenterDynamics","quote":""}]},{"date":"2026-02","sortKey":"2026-02-28","programIds":["zhejiang-lab-three-body"],"orgs":["Three-Body Computing Constellation (Zhejiang Lab)"],"title":"Six-satellite laser chain; 10 AI models validated in orbit","detail":"","status":"achieved","kind":"result","confidence":"reported","sources":[{"url":"https://zjic.zj.gov.cn/ywdh/cyfz/202602/t20260228_23967177.shtml","publisher":"Zhejiang government","quote":"10 AI models deployed and validated through in-orbit collaboration"}]},{"date":"2026-03-16","sortKey":"2026-03-16","programIds":["nvidia-space-computing","planet-labs"],"orgs":["NVIDIA Space Computing","Planet Labs"],"title":"NVIDIA Space Computing launched at GTC; Space-1 Vera Rubin Module announced","detail":"Designed for at least 5 years and 8,000 thermal cycles in SSO (reported). Radiation tolerance not published.","status":"achieved","kind":"announced","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://nvidianews.nvidia.com/news/space-computing","publisher":"NVIDIA","quote":"Space computing, the final frontier, has arrived."},{"url":"https://investor.nvidia.com/news/press-release-details/2026/NVIDIA-Launches-Space-Computing-Rocketing-AI-Into-Orbit/default.aspx","publisher":"NVIDIA","quote":""}]},{"date":"2026-03-16","sortKey":"2026-03-16","programIds":["kepler-compute"],"orgs":["Kepler Communications (Kepler Compute)"],"title":"Kepler Compute commissioned: 40 Jetson Orin modules across 10 satellites","detail":"","status":"achieved","kind":"result","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://smallsatnews.com/2026/03/17/kepler-commissions-first-nvidia-powered-cloud-infrastructure-across-optical-constellation/","publisher":"SmallSat News","quote":""},{"url":"https://satnews.com/2026/03/17/kepler-commissions-first-nvidia-powered-cloud-infrastructure-across-optical-constellation/","publisher":"SatNews","quote":""}]},{"date":"2026-03-19","sortKey":"2026-03-19","programIds":["blue-origin-project-sunrise"],"orgs":["Blue Origin Project Sunrise"],"title":"Project Sunrise FCC application: up to 51,600 satellites","detail":"Requested waivers of milestone and bond rules citing early design stage.","status":"achieved","kind":"filing","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://newspaceeconomy.ca/2026/03/20/blue-origin-project-sunrise-the-race-to-build-data-centers-in-orbit/","publisher":"New Space Economy","quote":"space-based data centers will be a complement to terrestrial infrastructure by introducing a new compute tier that operates independently of Earth-based constraints"},{"url":"https://regmedia.co.uk/2026/03/20/fcc_filing.pdf","publisher":"FCC filing (via The Register)","quote":"Dated: March 19, 2026"}]},{"date":"2026-03-23","sortKey":"2026-03-23","programIds":["space-compass"],"orgs":["Space Compass (NTT and SKY Perfect JSAT)"],"title":"Contract with SWISSto12 for HummingSat GEO optical relay satellite","detail":"","status":"achieved","kind":"announced","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.skyperfectjsat.space/en/news/20260323","publisher":"SKY Perfect JSAT","quote":""}]},{"date":"2026-03-24","sortKey":"2026-03-24","programIds":["ramon-space"],"orgs":["Ramon.Space"],"title":"Expanded Ingrasys partnership for orbital data center infrastructure","detail":"","status":"achieved","kind":"announced","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://payloadspace.com/ramon-space-ingrasys-aim-to-fly-prototype-orbital-data-center-in-2027/","publisher":"Payload","quote":"The volume of data being generated in orbit is outpacing what ground infrastructure"}]},{"date":"2026-03-25","sortKey":"2026-03-25","programIds":["planet-labs"],"orgs":["Planet Labs"],"title":"Pelican-4 detects aircraft onboard with a Jetson Orin","detail":"About 80% accuracy on raw imagery.","status":"achieved","kind":"result","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.satellitetoday.com/imagery-and-sensing/2026/04/07/planet-details-ai-driven-object-detection-onboard-pelican-4-satellite/","publisher":"Via Satellite","quote":"one of the first times an Earth imaging satellite has gone beyond data capture to onboard AI inference and analysis"},{"url":"https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260407165913/en/Planet-Successfully-Runs-AI-in-Space","publisher":"Planet (Business Wire)","quote":"This first detection has an 80% detection accuracy on raw imagery"}]},{"date":"early 2026 (no launch found as of 2026-10-05)","sortKey":"2026-03-28","programIds":["orbitsedge"],"orgs":["OrbitsEdge"],"title":"Edge1 first orbital mission","detail":"Target date has passed; no launch or completion found as of 2026-10-05.","status":"target-passed","kind":"planned","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/off-earth-footprint-florida-company-syntilay-design-shoe-in-space-2026","publisher":"Space.com","quote":""}]},{"date":"2026-03","sortKey":"2026-03-28","programIds":["edge-aerospace"],"orgs":["Edge Aerospace (ESA Space Cloud)"],"title":"First in-orbit demo flown on Transporter-16","detail":"","status":"achieved","kind":"flown","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://payloadspace.com/esa-selects-edge-aerospace-to-study-orbital-data-center-concepts/","publisher":"Payload","quote":""},{"url":"https://www.satcom.digital/news/edge-aerospace-announces-esa-contract-for-orbital-data-centers-first-in-orbit-mission-completion-and-us-expansion","publisher":"Satcom Digital","quote":""}],"launchKey":"Transporter-16 (2026-03-30)"},{"date":"2026-03-30","sortKey":"2026-03-30","programIds":["starcloud"],"orgs":["Starcloud"],"title":"$170M Series A at $1.1B valuation","detail":"Led by Benchmark and EQT Ventures.","status":"achieved","kind":"funding","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://payloadspace.com/starcloud-raises-170m-series-a-at-1-1b-valuation/","publisher":"Payload","quote":"Starcloud raised $170 million in a Series A round"},{"url":"https://www.satellitetoday.com/finance/2026/03/30/starcloud-raises-170m-to-fund-orbital-data-center-plans/","publisher":"Via Satellite","quote":""}]},{"date":"2026-03-30","sortKey":"2026-03-30","programIds":["aethero"],"orgs":["Aethero"],"title":"Phobos launched on Transporter-16","detail":"Multiple software customers onboard.","status":"achieved","kind":"flown","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://www.aethero.com/news/press-release-phobos-satellite-launch/","publisher":"Aethero","quote":"achieving up to 157 TOPS of compute power in orbit"}],"launchKey":"Transporter-16 (2026-03-30)"},{"date":"2026-03-30","sortKey":"2026-03-30","programIds":["k2-space"],"orgs":["K2 Space"],"title":"Gravitas (first Mega class, 20 kW) launched and operating","detail":"","status":"achieved","kind":"context","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://x.com/K2SpaceCo/status/2074878630661095863","publisher":"K2 Space on X","quote":""},{"url":"https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/19/k2-to-launch-its-first-high-powered-satellite-for-space-compute/","publisher":"TechCrunch","quote":""}]},{"date":"2026-04-01","sortKey":"2026-04-01","programIds":["ibm-red-hat"],"orgs":["IBM and Red Hat (orbital software)"],"title":"IBM Think article on space data centers; IBM Research cautions on bandwidth","detail":"","status":"achieved","kind":"announced","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.ibm.com/think/news/data-centers-in-space-one-giant-leap-ai","publisher":"IBM","quote":"You have many sensors producing a lot of data, meaning a lot of bandwidth. But you can't send all that data to Earth in one go."}]},{"date":"2026-04-13","sortKey":"2026-04-13","programIds":["sophia-space"],"orgs":["Sophia Space"],"title":"Kepler collaboration: Sophia software on Kepler GPUs from Q4 2026","detail":"Reported as six GPUs on two Kepler spacecraft.","status":"achieved","kind":"announced","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://sophia.space/news/sophia-space-announces-strategic-collaboration-with-kepler-communications-to-advance-orbital-compute-and-connectivity","publisher":"Sophia Space","quote":"Partnering with Kepler allows us to accelerate our vision of bringing modular, low-latency compute to space"}]},{"date":"2026-04-13","sortKey":"2026-04-13","programIds":["atomic-6-odc-space"],"orgs":["Atomic-6 (ODC.space)"],"title":"ODC.space storefront reported","detail":"From $575,000 a month; launch about 3 years after payment.","status":"achieved","kind":"announced","confidence":"single-source","sources":[{"url":"https://www.ajc.com/business/2026/04/data-centers-in-space-this-georgia-startup-says-its-not-science-fiction/","publisher":"Atlanta Journal-Constitution","quote":""}]},{"date":"2026-04-13","sortKey":"2026-04-13","programIds":["kepler-compute"],"orgs":["Kepler Communications (Kepler Compute)"],"title":"Compute opened to commercial customers","detail":"","status":"achieved","kind":"service","confidence":"reported","sources":[{"url":"https://techcrunch.com/2026/04/13/the-largest-orbital-compute-cluster-is-open-for-business/","publisher":"TechCrunch","quote":"The largest orbital compute cluster is open for business"}]},{"date":"2026-04-14","sortKey":"2026-04-14","programIds":["orbital-compute"],"orgs":["Orbital"],"title":"Pre-seed (amount undisclosed) led by a16z speedrun; company emerges from stealth","detail":"CEO told The Register launch economics do not work yet. The $5M amount was announced on 2026-06-09.","status":"achieved","kind":"funding","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://siliconangle.com/2026/04/14/ai-satellite-constellation-startup-orbital-gets-funded-andreessen-horowitz-verify-space-based-data-center-concept/","publisher":"SiliconANGLE","quote":"closed on a funding round of an undisclosed amount led by Andreessen Horowitz's a16z Speedrun"},{"url":"https://www.theregister.com/2026/04/15/orbital_space_datacenter_startup_economics/","publisher":"The Register","quote":"The constellation approach to run AI inference makes sense, but as of today, the economics of launch don't quite work yet."}]},{"date":"2026-04-15","sortKey":"2026-04-15","programIds":["lonestar-data-holdings"],"orgs":["Lonestar Data Holdings"],"title":"StarVault storage service announced; second Sidus payload ordered","detail":"First payload then set for October 2026 on LizzieSat-4.","status":"achieved","kind":"announced","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lonestar-announces-starvault-the-worlds-first-commercial-space-based-data-storage-service-and-expansion-of-its-orbital-data-center-with-sidus-space-302742619.html","publisher":"PR Newswire","quote":""},{"url":"https://www.satellitetoday.com/technology/2026/04/15/lonestar-expands-launch-plans-for-orbital-data-storage-payload/","publisher":"Via Satellite","quote":"rolling out its first commercial service in LEO in Q4 2026"}]},{"date":"2026-04-16","sortKey":"2026-04-16","programIds":["aethero"],"orgs":["Aethero"],"title":"Titan mission on EnduroSat FRAME-15 announced for October 2026","detail":"","status":"achieved","kind":"announced","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://www.endurosat.com/news/aethero-deploys-next-generation-in-orbit-computing-on-endurosat-frame-15/","publisher":"EnduroSat","quote":"delivers over 4,000 TFLOPS"}]},{"date":"2026-04-20","sortKey":"2026-04-20","programIds":["orbital-chenguang"],"orgs":["Orbital Chenguang (Beijing space data center)"],"title":"Pre-A1 equity round plus RMB 57.7B of strategic credit from 12 financial institutions","detail":"Equity reported as RMB 170M (company filing via Sina Finance). The credit is framework agreements or letters of intent: availability, not drawn funds.","status":"achieved","kind":"funding","confidence":"reported","sources":[{"url":"https://www.china-in-space.com/p/china-seriously-backs-space-based","publisher":"China in Space","quote":"Strategic credit secured: 57.7 billion Yuan"},{"url":"https://finance.sina.com.cn/jjxw/2026-04-22/doc-inhvitah5682432.shtml","publisher":"Sina Finance","quote":"轨道辰光本轮增资扩股总额为1.7亿元人民币"},{"url":"https://www.cls.cn/detail/2350103","publisher":"Cailian Press","quote":"签署战略授信协议或取得授信意向函，授信金额共计577亿元人民币"}]},{"date":"2026-04-22","sortKey":"2026-04-22","programIds":["space-compass"],"orgs":["Space Compass (NTT and SKY Perfect JSAT)"],"title":"Selected for JAXA Space Strategy Fund, up to JPY 23.5B through March 2031","detail":"For optical data relay.","status":"achieved","kind":"announced","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.skyperfectjsat.space/en/news/20260422","publisher":"SKY Perfect JSAT","quote":"Optical data relay services enable real-time Earth observation by overcoming data-latency challenges"}]},{"date":"2026-04-27","sortKey":"2026-04-27","programIds":["meta"],"orgs":["Meta (adjacent: Space Llama, space solar)"],"title":"Reserves up to 1 GW of space solar power from Overview Energy","detail":"Overview demo 2028, commercial power 2030 (Overview's timeline).","status":"achieved","kind":"announced","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.pv-magazine.com/2026/04/27/meta-gains-early-access-to-1-gw-of-space-based-solar-power/","publisher":"pv magazine","quote":"Meta gains early access to 1 GW of space-based solar power"}]},{"date":"2026-04","sortKey":"2026-04-28","programIds":["apex-space"],"orgs":["Apex (satellite buses)"],"title":"Comet Mini and Comet XL high-power buses introduced for orbital compute","detail":"Comet Mini about 20 kW; Comet XL reported up to 100 kW.","status":"achieved","kind":"announced","confidence":"reported","sources":[{"url":"https://orbitaltoday.com/2026/04/11/apex-targets-missile-defence-and-orbital-compute-with-new-satellite-platforms/","publisher":"Orbital Today","quote":"Comet Mini is planned to deliver around 20 kW of power, roughly four times the output of the current Comet platform."}]},{"date":"2026-04","sortKey":"2026-04-28","programIds":["ada-space-star-compute"],"orgs":["ADA Space Star Compute"],"title":"Pre-IPO round of RMB 3.55B at RMB 11.554B post-money","detail":"","status":"achieved","kind":"funding","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://finance.sina.com.cn/wm/2026-05-15/doc-inhxxspp6235085.shtml","publisher":"Sina Finance","quote":"募集资金总额35.5亿元，投后估值达115.54亿元"},{"url":"https://m.chinaventure.com.cn/news/114-20260518-391398.html","publisher":"ChinaVenture","quote":"2026年4月，国星宇航刚刚完成35.5亿元新一轮融资，投后估值约115.54亿元"}]},{"date":"2026-05-04","sortKey":"2026-05-04","programIds":["pixxel-sarvam-pathfinder"],"orgs":["Pixxel and Sarvam AI Pathfinder"],"title":"Partnership for an orbital data centre satellite announced","detail":"","status":"achieved","kind":"announced","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.businesstoday.in/technology/story/sarvam-ai-and-pixxel-partner-to-set-up-indias-first-orbital-data-centre-satellite-529652-2026-05-04","publisher":"Business Today","quote":""},{"url":"https://www.pixxel.space/news/pixxel-to-launch-indias-first-orbital-data-centre-satellite-powered-by-sarvam","publisher":"Pixxel","quote":"Having India-built models running in orbit aboard an India-built satellite"}]},{"date":"2026-05-05","sortKey":"2026-05-05","programIds":["blue-origin-project-sunrise"],"orgs":["Blue Origin Project Sunrise"],"title":"NASA objects to Project Sunrise at the FCC","detail":"NASA asked for more transparency, rigor and coordination.","status":"achieved","kind":"filing","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.advanced-television.com/2026/05/05/nasa-objects-to-blue-origins-51600-satellites","publisher":"Advanced Television","quote":"requires commensurate transparency, technical rigor, and coordination to ensure long-term safety"}]},{"date":"2026-05-05","sortKey":"2026-05-05","programIds":["edge-aerospace"],"orgs":["Edge Aerospace (ESA Space Cloud)"],"title":"ESA Space Cloud Phase I contract for orbital data center architecture","detail":"","status":"achieved","kind":"study","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://payloadspace.com/esa-selects-edge-aerospace-to-study-orbital-data-center-concepts/","publisher":"Payload","quote":"develop an architecture and use-case road-map for orbital data centers"}]},{"date":"2026-05-06","sortKey":"2026-05-06","programIds":["spacex-orbital-compute","anthropic"],"orgs":["SpaceX orbital compute (with xAI)","Anthropic (prospective customer)"],"title":"Anthropic expresses interest in multiple gigawatts of orbital compute with SpaceX","detail":"Alongside a ground-based Colossus 1 agreement. Interest only.","status":"achieved","kind":"announced","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.anthropic.com/news/higher-limits-spacex","publisher":"Anthropic","quote":"we have also expressed interest in partnering with SpaceX to develop multiple gigawatts of orbital AI compute capacity"}]},{"date":"2026-05-11","sortKey":"2026-05-11","programIds":["cowboy-space"],"orgs":["Cowboy Space Corporation"],"title":"Rebrand to Cowboy Space; $275M Series B at $2B valuation","detail":"Led by Index Ventures; adds a launch vehicle whose upper stage is the data center.","status":"achieved","kind":"funding","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.morningstar.com/news/business-wire/20260508036993/cowboy-space-corporation-raises-275m-series-b-for-vertically-integrated-orbital-data-centers-and-rockets","publisher":"Morningstar (Business Wire)","quote":"Cowboy Space Corporation Raises $275M Series B For Vertically-Integrated Orbital Data Centers and Rockets"},{"url":"https://payloadspace.com/aetherflux-rebrands-pivots-business-and-raises-275m/","publisher":"Payload","quote":"Once in orbit, the upper stage will operate as a 1 megawatt data center."},{"url":"https://siliconangle.com/2026/05/11/cowboy-space-raises-275m-build-orbital-ai-data-centers/","publisher":"SiliconANGLE","quote":"Published at May 11th 2026, 9:00 AM EDT via Business Wire"},{"url":"https://www.satellitetoday.com/finance/2026/05/11/aetherflux-rebrands-as-cowboy-space-expanding-plans-to-in-orbit-compute-and-launch/","publisher":"Via Satellite","quote":"raised $275 million in Series B financing at a $2 billion post-money valuation"}]},{"date":"2026-05-11","sortKey":"2026-05-11","programIds":["lonestar-data-holdings"],"orgs":["Lonestar Data Holdings"],"title":"NASA Ames Space Act Agreement","detail":"Framework for lunar storage, off-world compute and spectrum; no funds disclosed.","status":"achieved","kind":"announced","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lonestar-signs-nasa-space-act-agreement-to-advance-space-based-super-compute-data-storage-and-spectrum-for-resilient-space-infrastructure-302767759.html","publisher":"PR Newswire","quote":""}]},{"date":"2026-05-12","sortKey":"2026-05-12","programIds":["google-project-suncatcher"],"orgs":["Google Project Suncatcher"],"title":"Google reported in preliminary launch talks with SpaceX","detail":"Wall Street Journal report; no deal announced.","status":"achieved","kind":"announced","confidence":"reported","sources":[{"url":"https://gvwire.com/2026/05/12/google-spacex-in-talks-to-explore-data-centers-in-orbit-wsj-reports/","publisher":"GV Wire (WSJ report)","quote":""}]},{"date":"2026-05-14","sortKey":"2026-05-14","programIds":["cowboy-space"],"orgs":["Cowboy Space Corporation"],"title":"FCC application: 20,000-satellite Stampede Data Center System","detail":"Launches from 2028; satellite design unfinished. The FCC later asked about satellite size (SatNews, 2026-09-13).","status":"achieved","kind":"filing","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://spacenews.com/cowboy-files-plans-for-up-to-20000-orbital-data-centers/","publisher":"SpaceNews","quote":"Cowboy files plans for up to 20000 orbital data centers"}]},{"date":"2026-05-14","sortKey":"2026-05-14","programIds":["ada-space-star-compute"],"orgs":["ADA Space Star Compute"],"title":"Third Hong Kong listing application filed","detail":"Prospectus: 18 AI computing satellites developed across 14 missions.","status":"achieved","kind":"filing","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://finance.sina.com.cn/wm/2026-05-15/doc-inhxxspp6235085.shtml","publisher":"Sina Finance","quote":"自主开发了6个AI有效载荷、4颗AI应用卫星和18颗AI智算卫星，同时成功完成了14次太空任务"}]},{"date":"2026-05-20","sortKey":"2026-05-20","programIds":["spacex-orbital-compute"],"orgs":["SpaceX orbital compute (with xAI)"],"title":"S-1 risk factor: orbital AI compute may not be commercially viable","detail":"IPO prospectus says the plans involve unproven technology and depend on Starship reusability.","status":"achieved","kind":"filing","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://thenextweb.com/news/spacex-orbital-data-centres-ipo-risk-disclosure","publisher":"The Next Web","quote":"involve significant technical complexity and unproven technologies, and may not achieve commercial viability"},{"url":"https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1181412/000162828026036936/spaceexplorationtechnologi.htm","publisher":"US SEC","quote":""}]},{"date":"2026-05-26","sortKey":"2026-05-26","programIds":["starcloud"],"orgs":["Starcloud"],"title":"Starlink Mini laser terminal contract","detail":"More than 50 terminals across at least 25 satellites, up to 25 Gbps links (company release as quoted by Unite.AI).","status":"achieved","kind":"announced","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://www.unite.ai/starcloud-raises-250m-series-a-extension-at-2-3b-valuation/","publisher":"Unite.AI","quote":"to integrate more than 50 Starlink Mini Laser terminals across at least 25 satellites"}]},{"date":"2026-05-11","sortKey":"2026-05-11","programIds":["voyager-leocloud","ibm-red-hat"],"orgs":["Voyager Technologies / LEOcloud Space Edge","IBM and Red Hat (orbital software)"],"title":"RHEL 10.1 deployment on Space Edge (ISS) announced","detail":"Red Hat and Voyager announcement.","status":"achieved","kind":"software","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.redhat.com/en/about/press-releases/voyager-and-red-hat-propel-red-hat-enterprise-linux-orbit-space-edge-micro-datacenters","publisher":"Red Hat","quote":""},{"url":"https://voyagertechnologies.com/press-releases/voyager-and-red-hat-propel-red-hat-enterprise-linux-into-orbit-with-space-edge-micro-datacenters/","publisher":"Voyager Technologies","quote":""}]},{"date":"2026-06-01","sortKey":"2026-06-01","programIds":["openai"],"orgs":["OpenAI (skeptic)"],"title":"Altman: focused on building on Earth for now","detail":"CNBC, Stargate Michigan event.","status":"achieved","kind":"announced","confidence":"reported","sources":[{"url":"https://www.cnbc.com/video/2026/06/01/sam-altman-on-data-centers-in-space-were-focused-building-on-earth-for-now.html","publisher":"CNBC","quote":"We're focused building on Earth for now"}]},{"date":"2026-06-03","sortKey":"2026-06-03","programIds":["muon-space-condor-ultra"],"orgs":["Muon Space (Condor-Ultra bus)"],"title":"Condor-Ultra platform unveiled","detail":"20 kW, 25 Gbps via Starlink; scalable to 100 kW (company).","status":"achieved","kind":"announced","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/muon-space-unveils-condor-ultra-starship-class-spacecraft-platform-built-for-scale-302789276.html","publisher":"PR Newswire","quote":"Condor-Ultra delivers exactly that"}]},{"date":"2026-06-08","sortKey":"2026-06-08","programIds":["spacex-orbital-compute"],"orgs":["SpaceX orbital compute (with xAI)"],"title":"AI1 compute satellite design and Gigasat factory revealed","detail":"AI1: about 120 kW sustained, 150 kW peak; Gigasat about 11 million sq ft (as reported).","status":"achieved","kind":"announced","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/spacex-details-ai1-satellite-data-center-claims-150kw-peak-compute/","publisher":"DatacenterDynamics","quote":"SpaceX details AI1 satellite 'data center,' claims 150kW peak compute"},{"url":"https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/big-tech/spacex-unveils-11-million-square-foot-gigasat-factory-a-new-manufacturing-facility-for-space-based-data-centers-aims-for-1-gw-year-of-space-ai-compute-by-late-2027-from-its-satellites","publisher":"Tom's Hardware","quote":""}]},{"date":"2026-06-16","sortKey":"2026-06-16","programIds":["spaceblast"],"orgs":["SpaceBlast (JAXA orbital data center technology)"],"title":"Project kickoff with simulation demonstrations","detail":"","status":"achieved","kind":"study","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://spaceblast.co.jp/news/2187/","publisher":"SpaceBlast","quote":""}]},{"date":"2026-06-23","sortKey":"2026-06-23","programIds":["sophia-space","apex-space"],"orgs":["Sophia Space","Apex (satellite buses)"],"title":"$7M SAFE; Apex Nova bus chosen for 2027 demo; $22M total","detail":"","status":"achieved","kind":"funding","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sophia-space-announces-7-million-safe-financing-bringing-total-funding-to-22-million-302806945.html","publisher":"PR Newswire","quote":"Sophia Space Announces $7 Million SAFE Financing, Bringing Total Funding to $22 Million"},{"url":"https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sophia-space-selects-apex-to-power-realtime-computing-in-orbit-302806905.html","publisher":"PR Newswire","quote":""}]},{"date":"2026-06-24","sortKey":"2026-06-24","programIds":["orbital-compute"],"orgs":["Orbital"],"title":"FCC application for up to 100,000 satellites (about 10 GW)","detail":"Earlier (April) the company described a 10,000-satellite plan.","status":"achieved","kind":"filing","confidence":"reported","sources":[{"url":"https://broadbandbreakfast.com/orbital-seeks-fcc-approval-for-100-000-satellite-data-center-constellation/","publisher":"Broadband Breakfast","quote":"Orbital files for 100,000 space data satellites for 10GW compute constellation"}]},{"date":"mid-2026 (launch status not verified as of 2026-10-05)","sortKey":"2026-06-28","programIds":["kp-labs-leopard"],"orgs":["KP Labs (Leopard DPU)"],"title":"Leopard DPU on ESA OPS-SAT VOLT","detail":"Target date has passed; no launch or completion found as of 2026-10-05.","status":"target-passed","kind":"planned","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://spaceinafrica.com/2025/08/12/kp-labs-and-simera-sense-collaborate-to-deliver-integrated-ai-powered-optical-payloads-for-future-space-missions/","publisher":"Space in Africa","quote":"scheduled for launch in mid-2026"}]},{"date":"2026-07-03","sortKey":"2026-07-03","programIds":["hanwha-space-ai-data-center"],"orgs":["Hanwha Systems space AI data center plan"],"title":"Group plan announced: KRW 55T by 2040, about KRW 20T to Hanwha Systems","detail":"","status":"achieved","kind":"announced","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/business/hanwha-to-invest-36b-in-launch-vehicles-satellites-and-orbiting-ai-data-center/12753789","publisher":"Korea JoongAng Daily","quote":"The first step toward securing space sovereignty is developing our own launch vehicle"}]},{"date":"2026-07-11","sortKey":"2026-07-11","programIds":["kp-labs-leopard"],"orgs":["KP Labs (Leopard DPU)"],"title":"Collaboration with Parsimoni (Leopard plus SpaceOS)","detail":"","status":"achieved","kind":"announced","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://spaceagency.prowly.com/464580-kp-labs-and-parsimoni-combine-onboard-processing-and-payload-software-management-technologies-for-satellite-missions","publisher":"KP Labs newsroom","quote":""}]},{"date":"2026-07-18","sortKey":"2026-07-18","programIds":["xingshu-tiansuan"],"orgs":["Shanghai Xingshu Tiansuan constellation"],"title":"First-constellation design unveiled at WAIC","detail":"A design announcement, not a launch. The first satellite, Fuxi-1, is due before March 2027.","status":"achieved","kind":"announced","confidence":"reported","sources":[{"url":"https://finance.sina.com.cn/wm/2026-07-18/doc-iniifnzz8377184.shtml","publisher":"Sina Finance","quote":"星枢计划首发星座正式对外发布"}]},{"date":"2026-07-24","sortKey":"2026-07-24","programIds":["zhejiang-lab-three-body"],"orgs":["Three-Body Computing Constellation (Zhejiang Lab)"],"title":"Jitianxing A-04 and Xiguang-2 03 launched on Kinetica-1 Y15","detail":"One computing and one remote-sensing satellite (23:33 UTC on 2026-07-23); 14 constellation satellites in all. Weather AI models run in orbit. Shared launch with Chenguang-1.","status":"achieved","kind":"flown","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.chinanews.com.cn/gn/2026/07-24/10665951.shtml","publisher":"China News Service","quote":"双星发射！三体计算星座加速组网"},{"url":"https://news.bjd.com.cn/2026/07/24/11883043.shtml","publisher":"Beijing Daily","quote":"吉天星A-04星"}],"launchKey":"Kinetica-1 Y15 (2026-07-23 UTC)"},{"date":"2026-07-24","sortKey":"2026-07-24","programIds":["orbital-chenguang"],"orgs":["Orbital Chenguang (Beijing space data center)"],"title":"Chenguang-1 launched on Kinetica-1 Y15","detail":"","status":"achieved","kind":"flown","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.beijing.gov.cn/fuwu/lqfw/gggs/202607/t20260726_4788464.html","publisher":"Beijing municipal government","quote":""}],"launchKey":"Kinetica-1 Y15 (2026-07-23 UTC)"},{"date":"2026-07-29","sortKey":"2026-07-29","programIds":["zhejiang-lab-three-body"],"orgs":["Three-Body Computing Constellation (Zhejiang Lab)"],"title":"Two satellites report an 8-day continuous laser link","detail":"192 hours 8 minutes 45 seconds at 99.99% availability, up to 1,000 km.","status":"achieved","kind":"result","confidence":"reported","sources":[{"url":"https://www.china-in-space.com/p/three-body-computing-constellation","publisher":"China in Space","quote":""}]},{"date":"2026-08-11","sortKey":"2026-08-11","programIds":["orbital-chenguang"],"orgs":["Orbital Chenguang (Beijing space data center)"],"title":"Chenguang-1 reported in planned orbit; validation of solar cells and graphene radiators begins","detail":"","status":"achieved","kind":"result","confidence":"reported","sources":[{"url":"https://finance.sina.com.cn/roll/2026-08-11/doc-inimwuht0845274.shtml","publisher":"Sina Finance","quote":""}]},{"date":"2026-08-21","sortKey":"2026-08-21","programIds":["starcloud","nvidia-space-computing"],"orgs":["Starcloud","NVIDIA Space Computing"],"title":"$250M Series A extension at $2.3B valuation","detail":"Led by Manhattan West; NVIDIA and Cisco Investments joined. About 25 employees and a Woodinville, WA factory.","status":"achieved","kind":"funding","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/21/starcloud-raises-200-million-for-orbital-data-centers-as-launch-options-dry-up/","publisher":"TechCrunch","quote":"Starcloud raises $250 million for orbital data centers as launch options dry up"},{"url":"https://www.satellitetoday.com/finance/2026/08/21/starcloud-adds-250m-to-series-a-at-a-2-3b-valuation/","publisher":"Via Satellite","quote":""},{"url":"https://siliconangle.com/2026/08/21/starcloud-raises-250m-to-build-ai-data-centers-in-orbit/","publisher":"SiliconANGLE","quote":""}]},{"date":"2026-08-23","sortKey":"2026-08-23","programIds":["unibap-spacecloud"],"orgs":["Unibap SpaceCloud"],"title":"iX20 space computer introduced","detail":"","status":"achieved","kind":"announced","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://unibap.com/news/","publisher":"Unibap","quote":"iX20 space computer"}]},{"date":"2026-08-25","sortKey":"2026-08-25","programIds":["edge-aerospace"],"orgs":["Edge Aerospace (ESA Space Cloud)"],"title":"Redwire to manufacture its DPUs and switches in the US under license","detail":"","status":"achieved","kind":"announced","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://spacenews.com/edge-aerospace-expands-u-s-manufacturing-through-licensing-pact-with-redwire/","publisher":"SpaceNews","quote":"Redwire will manufacture data processing units and network switches under a licensing agreement"}]},{"date":"2026-08","sortKey":"2026-08-28","programIds":["rocket-lab"],"orgs":["Rocket Lab (supplier)"],"title":"Peter Beck: real opportunity, cautious on scale; no plan to operate data centers","detail":"Earnings call.","status":"achieved","kind":"announced","confidence":"reported","sources":[{"url":"https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/rocket-lab-has-no-plans-to-enter-orbital-data-center-market/","publisher":"DatacenterDynamics","quote":"I think it's a real opportunity ... I'm still a little bit cautious on the scale in which they may be a thing"}]},{"date":"2026-09-01","sortKey":"2026-09-01","programIds":["ada-space-star-compute"],"orgs":["ADA Space Star Compute"],"title":"Departure ceremony for the first 8 Group 02 satellites","detail":"Launch \"soon\" as of 2026-09-17; no launch found as of 2026-10-05.","status":"achieved","kind":"announced","confidence":"reported","sources":[{"url":"https://news.qq.com/rain/a/20260917A0B88Y00","publisher":"Tencent News","quote":"“星算”计划02组首批8颗卫星出征仪式，这8颗卫星将于近期择机发射"}]},{"date":"2026-09-04","sortKey":"2026-09-04","programIds":["orbital-chenguang"],"orgs":["Orbital Chenguang (Beijing space data center)"],"title":"Pre-A+ round led by Yuande Capital (amount undisclosed)","detail":"","status":"achieved","kind":"funding","confidence":"reported","sources":[{"url":"https://www.china-in-space.com/p/orbital-chenguang-testing-computing","publisher":"China in Space","quote":"Space data centers serve as critical infrastructure for commercial space and AI"},{"url":"https://www.chinastarmarket.cn/detail/2474242","publisher":"STAR Market Daily","quote":"本轮融资金额未披露"}]},{"date":"2026-09-08","sortKey":"2026-09-08","programIds":["altair-loft-marlan"],"orgs":["Altair constellation (Loft Orbital, Marlan Space, Orbitworks)"],"title":"IHC acquires 80% of Marlan Space","detail":"","status":"achieved","kind":"announced","confidence":"reported","sources":[{"url":"https://www.satellitetoday.com/earth-observation/2026/09/09/loft-orbital-marlan-space-to-build-ai-constellation-to-serve-france-europe-and-uae/","publisher":"Via Satellite","quote":"IHC acquired 80% stake in Marlan Space on September 8, 2026"}]},{"date":"2026-09-09","sortKey":"2026-09-09","programIds":["altair-loft-marlan"],"orgs":["Altair constellation (Loft Orbital, Marlan Space, Orbitworks)"],"title":"$1B Altair program signed in Paris; first 10 satellites in production","detail":"Partners: Mistral AI, BlackSky; MaiaSpace preferred launcher.","status":"achieved","kind":"announced","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://orbitworks.space/worlds-largest-ai-infrastructure-in-space-announced-by-the-president-of-the-french-republic/","publisher":"Orbitworks","quote":"Altair turns a factory into a national capability"},{"url":"https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/loft-orbital-marlan-space-and-mistral-sign-1bn-deal-to-put-compute-in-space/","publisher":"DatacenterDynamics","quote":""}]},{"date":"2026-09-10","sortKey":"2026-09-10","programIds":["orbital-compute","reflex-aerospace"],"orgs":["Orbital","Reflex Aerospace (Orbital-1 platform)"],"title":"Reflex Aerospace selected as exclusive satellite platform partner","detail":"","status":"achieved","kind":"announced","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.reflexaerospace.com/press-releases/orbital-selects-reflex-as-exclusive-satellite-platform-partner-space-data-center-constellation","publisher":"Reflex Aerospace","quote":"Orbital data centers demand complex avionics, precision control of very large structures, and reliability over years in orbit"}]},{"date":"2026-09-10","sortKey":"2026-09-10","programIds":["spacex-orbital-compute"],"orgs":["SpaceX orbital compute (with xAI)"],"title":"CFO: first orbital compute satellites to fly next year on the V3 bus","detail":"CFO Bret Johnsen at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference.","status":"achieved","kind":"announced","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://www.investing.com/news/transcripts/spacex-at-goldman-sachs-communacopia--technology-conference-2026-compute-push-93CH-4896834","publisher":"Investing.com","quote":"We're actually targeting to fly our first orbital compute satellites next year. ... These are largely the same V3 bus that we were just talking about for Starlink"},{"url":"https://stockanalysis.com/stocks/spcx/transcripts/740754-goldman-sachs-communacopia-technology-conference-2026/","publisher":"StockAnalysis (transcript)","quote":"We're actually targeting to fly our first orbital compute satellites next year."}]},{"date":"2026-09-14","sortKey":"2026-09-14","programIds":["sophia-space"],"orgs":["Sophia Space"],"title":"$300M non-binding asset-financing framework with SLI for 10 TILE spacecraft","detail":"SLI would buy and lease the satellites; a letter of support only.","status":"achieved","kind":"announced","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://payloadspace.com/sophia-space-sli-set-terms-for-300m-satellite-leasing-deal/","publisher":"Payload","quote":"When you start being able to have a finance scenario like this for a nascent industry, that industry is no longer nascent"}]},{"date":"2026-09-20","sortKey":"2026-09-20","programIds":["supersmartcompute"],"orgs":["Supersmartcompute (Super Intelligent Computing-1)"],"title":"Super Intelligent Computing-1 launched on Kinetica-1 Y18 with 8 other satellites","detail":"12:03 Beijing time (04:03 UTC) on Kinetica-1 Y18; CelesTrak lists 2026-09-21.","status":"achieved","kind":"flown","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.stdaily.com/web/gdxw/2026-09/22/content_586153.html","publisher":"Science and Technology Daily","quote":"“超智算一号”算力卫星成功发射"}],"launchKey":"Kinetica-1 Y18 (2026-09-20)"},{"date":"2026-09-28","sortKey":"2026-09-28","programIds":["lonestar-data-holdings"],"orgs":["Lonestar Data Holdings"],"title":"LizzieSat-4 (carrying the first StarVault payload) moved to NET April 2027","detail":"Sidus moved LS-4 to SpaceX Bandwagon-6.","status":"slipped","kind":"announced","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sidus-space-to-launch-lizziesat-4-and-lizziesat-5-together-on-spacex-bandwagon-6-302891457.html","publisher":"PR Newswire","quote":"targeted for no earlier than April 2027"}]},{"date":"2026-09-28","sortKey":"2026-09-28","programIds":["astro-digital"],"orgs":["Astro Digital"],"title":"SPAC merger with Proem Acquisition Corp I announced","detail":"Up to $180M gross proceeds; orbital data centers cited as a growth market.","status":"achieved","kind":"announced","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://satnews.com/2026/09/30/astro-digital-to-go-public-via-587-million-spac-merger-with-proem-acquisition-corp-i/","publisher":"SatNews","quote":"Astro Digital to Go Public via $587 Million SPAC Merger with Proem Acquisition Corp I"}]},{"date":"2026-09-28","sortKey":"2026-09-28","programIds":["spacex-orbital-compute"],"orgs":["SpaceX orbital compute (with xAI)"],"title":"Starship Flight 14 reaches orbit and deploys 26 Starlink V3 satellites","detail":"V3 is the bus SpaceX says compute satellites will share; these V3s are broadband satellites.","status":"achieved","kind":"context","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://spacepolicyonline.com/news/starship-achieves-orbit-for-the-first-time/","publisher":"SpacePolicyOnline","quote":"All 26 were released"}]},{"date":"2026-09","sortKey":"2026-09-28","programIds":["bupt-tiansuan"],"orgs":["Tiansuan Constellation (BUPT)"],"title":"Reported at 16 LEO satellites and 7 ground stations, over 60 institutions supported","detail":"","status":"achieved","kind":"result","confidence":"reported","sources":[{"url":"http://www.bjreview.com/Latest_Headlines/202609/t20260901_800445364.html","publisher":"Beijing Review","quote":"Space-based computing offers a zero-carbon, sustainable, and widely accessible alternative"}]},{"date":"Q3 2026 (no launch found as of 2026-10-05)","sortKey":"2026-09-28","programIds":["madari-space"],"orgs":["Madari Space"],"title":"Pilot data center payload launch","detail":"Target date has passed; no launch or completion found as of 2026-10-05.","status":"target-passed","kind":"planned","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://satelliteprome.com/news/madari-space-to-launch-first-orbital-data-centre-in-2026/","publisher":"SatellitePro ME","quote":"the launch planned for Q3 2026"}]},{"date":"2026-09-30","sortKey":"2026-09-30","programIds":["starcloud","firefly-lunar-compute"],"orgs":["Starcloud","Firefly Aerospace (lunar-orbit compute host)"],"title":"Firefly signs Starcloud SC-1L lunar-orbit compute payload","detail":"SC-1L rides Firefly Elytra on Blue Ghost Mission 3, NET 2028.","status":"achieved","kind":"announced","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://fireflyspace.com/news/firefly-aerospace-signs-starcloud-as-commercial-customer-demonstrating-data-center-capabilities-around-the-moon/","publisher":"Firefly Aerospace","quote":"targeted to launch no earlier than 2028"},{"url":"https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/09/30/3371832/0/en/firefly-aerospace-signs-starcloud-as-commercial-customer-demonstrating-data-center-capabilities-around-the-moon.html","publisher":"GlobeNewswire","quote":""}]},{"date":"2026-10-01","sortKey":"2026-10-01","programIds":["cowboy-space"],"orgs":["Cowboy Space Corporation"],"title":"Reason-1 launched (power-beaming demonstration)","detail":"Launched on SpaceX Transporter-18 on an Apex Aries bus; Apex reported contact within 10 minutes, nominal (2026-10-02). Power-beaming demo, not compute.","status":"achieved","kind":"context","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://finance.yahoo.com/technology/articles/cowboy-space-launches-reason-1-194400031.html","publisher":"Yahoo Finance","quote":""},{"url":"https://www.satellitetoday.com/launch/2026/10/01/the-first-mission-milestones-onboard-spacexs-transporter-18-rideshare-launch/","publisher":"Via Satellite","quote":"All systems are nominal, with initial contact made within 10 minutes of separation"}]},{"date":"2026-10-01","sortKey":"2026-10-01","programIds":["satlyt"],"orgs":["Satlyt"],"title":"$8M seed","detail":"Led by non sibi ventures; offices in Nairobi and Sunnyvale.","status":"achieved","kind":"funding","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/01/satlyt-founded-by-a-former-google-and-spacex-product-manager-raises-8m-to-run-ai-on-satellites/","publisher":"TechCrunch","quote":"Satlyt's seed round was led by Houston-based Non Sibi Ventures"},{"url":"https://spaceinafrica.com/2026/10/01/satlyt-raises-usd-8-million-seed/","publisher":"Space in Africa","quote":"USD 8 million in Seed financing"}]},{"date":"2026-10-01","sortKey":"2026-10-01","programIds":["google-project-suncatcher","planet-labs"],"orgs":["Google Project Suncatcher","Planet Labs"],"title":"First Suncatcher prototype launched on Transporter-18; contact confirmed","detail":"Google says it is operating as expected. Reports (not Google) describe 4 TPUs, about 1 kW, 15 to 20 minute compute bursts (Payload) and a one-year mission; a peer-reviewed economics paper in Joule was reported the same day.","status":"achieved","kind":"flown","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/models-and-research/google-research/project-suncatcher-prototype/","publisher":"Google","quote":"Our team has confirmed contact with the satellite and it is operating as expected."},{"url":"https://www.financialcontent.com/article/bizwire-2026-10-1-planet-launches-suncatcher-tanager-2-and-18-superdove-satellites","publisher":"Planet (Business Wire)","quote":"Planet has successfully made initial contact with Tanager-2, the Project Suncatcher prototype"},{"url":"https://www.techtimes.com/articles/328482/20261002/google-project-suncatcher-reaches-orbit-cooling-not-radiation-now-defines-mission.htm","publisher":"Tech Times","quote":""},{"url":"https://payloadspace.com/transporter-18-tests-the-building-blocks-of-orbital-data-centers/","publisher":"Payload","quote":""}],"launchKey":"Transporter-18 (2026-10-01)"},{"date":"2026-09-20","sortKey":"2026-09-20","programIds":["spacex-orbital-compute"],"orgs":["SpaceX orbital compute (with xAI)"],"title":"Musk: Gen3 Starlink satellites to be 250 kW with an NVIDIA Vera Rubin NVL72","detail":"An X reply about Gen3 Starlink, not a specification of the AI1 compute satellite. Not flown.","status":"achieved","kind":"announced","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://x.com/elonmusk/status/2101466638939832365","publisher":"Elon Musk on X","quote":"Each sat is 250kW and will have a SpaceX-designed Nvidia Vera Rubin NVL72 computer."},{"url":"https://satnews.com/2026/10/04/spacex-unveils-250-kw-starlink-gen3-ai-satellites-featuring-10-tbps-throughput-and-onboard-edge-compute/","publisher":"SatNews","quote":""}]},{"date":"2026-10-01","sortKey":"2026-10-01","programIds":["takeme2space"],"orgs":["TakeMe2Space"],"title":"MOI-1A launched on Transporter-18","detail":"2026-10-01 UTC (10-02 in India). No post-launch contact statement found as of 2026-10-05.","status":"achieved","kind":"flown","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.etvbharat.com/en/technology/takeme2space-satleo-labs-to-launch-satellites-on-spacex-transporter-18-mission-aboard-falcon-9-enn26100103116","publisher":"ETV Bharat","quote":""},{"url":"https://theprint.in/feature/takeme2space-launches-ai-powered-satellite-on-spacex-eyes-orbital-data-centre/3059872/","publisher":"ThePrint","quote":"launched its MOI-1a satellite aboard SpaceX's Transporter-18 mission"}],"launchKey":"Transporter-18 (2026-10-01)"},{"date":"October 2026","sortKey":"2026-10-28","programIds":["aethero"],"orgs":["Aethero"],"title":"Titan: Jetson Thor compute cluster on EnduroSat FRAME-15","detail":"","status":"planned","kind":"planned","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://www.endurosat.com/news/aethero-deploys-next-generation-in-orbit-computing-on-endurosat-frame-15/","publisher":"EnduroSat","quote":"scheduled to launch in October 2026"}]},{"date":"2026-10-01","sortKey":"2026-10-01","programIds":["altair-loft-marlan"],"orgs":["Altair constellation (Loft Orbital, Marlan Space, Orbitworks)"],"title":"Altair-1 launched on Transporter-18; signal acquired, commissioning","detail":"Built by Orbitworks with NVIDIA GPUs. Edge class.","status":"achieved","kind":"flown","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://satelliteprome.com/news/orbitworks-launches-first-uae-built-commercial-satellite-altair-1/","publisher":"SatellitePro ME","quote":"Following deployment, the satellite successfully acquired a signal and is now in the commissioning phase."},{"url":"https://techafricanews.com/2026/10/02/uae-launches-first-commercial-ai-enabled-earth-observation-satellite/","publisher":"TechAfrica News","quote":""},{"url":"https://newspaceeconomy.ca/2026/10/05/can-the-uae-turn-altair-1-into-a-sustainable-satellite-manufacturing-industry/","publisher":"NewSpace Economy","quote":""}],"launchKey":"Transporter-18 (2026-10-01)"},{"date":"Q4 2026","sortKey":"2026-12-28","programIds":["sophia-space"],"orgs":["Sophia Space"],"title":"Sophia software (SOOS) running on Kepler satellites","detail":"","status":"planned","kind":"planned","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://sophia.space/news/sophia-space-announces-strategic-collaboration-with-kepler-communications-to-advance-orbital-compute-and-connectivity","publisher":"Sophia Space","quote":"beginning in Q4 2026"}]},{"date":"2026","sortKey":"2026-12-28","programIds":["ada-space-star-compute"],"orgs":["ADA Space Star Compute"],"title":"Deploy Group 02 and Group 03 computing satellites","detail":"","status":"planned","kind":"planned","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://m.dtm.com.cn/news/202601/181487.html","publisher":"DTM","quote":"02组、03组太空计算中心已投产，并计划在2026年实现轨道部署"},{"url":"http://english.scio.gov.cn/chinavoices/2026-04/27/content_118464689.html","publisher":"SCIO (China)","quote":"The second and third groups are already in production and are scheduled for orbital deployment in 2026."}]},{"date":"2026","sortKey":"2026-12-28","programIds":["ramon-space"],"orgs":["Ramon.Space"],"title":"Fly early samples","detail":"","status":"planned","kind":"planned","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://payloadspace.com/ramon-space-ingrasys-aim-to-fly-prototype-orbital-data-center-in-2027/","publisher":"Payload","quote":"early samples in 2026"}]},{"date":"Q4 2026","sortKey":"2026-12-28","programIds":["pixxel-sarvam-pathfinder"],"orgs":["Pixxel and Sarvam AI Pathfinder"],"title":"Launch Pathfinder","detail":"","status":"planned","kind":"planned","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://www.pixxel.space/news/pixxel-to-launch-indias-first-orbital-data-centre-satellite-powered-by-sarvam","publisher":"Pixxel","quote":"targeted for launch in Q4 2026"}]},{"date":"end of 2026","sortKey":"2026-12-28","programIds":["agnikul-neevcloud"],"orgs":["Agnikul Cosmos and NeevCloud orbital edge data centers"],"title":"Pilot launch (300 to 350 kg unit)","detail":"","status":"planned","kind":"planned","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366642407/India-aims-for-the-stars-with-orbital-datacentres","publisher":"Computer Weekly","quote":"with a pilot expected before the end of 2026"}]},{"date":"2026","sortKey":"2026-12-28","programIds":["powerbank-orbit-ai"],"orgs":["PowerBank and Smartlink AI (Orbit AI)"],"title":"5 to 8 more satellites","detail":"","status":"planned","kind":"planned","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/powerbank-announces-launch-of-the-first-satellite-in-the-orbital-cloud-project-with-smartlink-ai-302638862.html","publisher":"PR Newswire","quote":""}]},{"date":"early 2027 (set October 2025, tied to the Starcloud-2 satellite)","sortKey":"2027-03-28","programIds":["starcloud"],"orgs":["Starcloud"],"title":"Crusoe offers limited GPU capacity from orbit","detail":"","status":"planned","kind":"planned","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/crusoe-to-deploy-in-starcloud-satellite-data-center-in-late-2026-offer-limited-gpu-capacity-in-space-from-2027/","publisher":"DatacenterDynamics","quote":"Crusoe plans to offer limited GPU capacity from space by early 2027"}]},{"date":"Q1 2027 (December 2025 target, not repeated since the May 2026 pivot)","sortKey":"2027-03-28","programIds":["cowboy-space"],"orgs":["Cowboy Space Corporation"],"title":"First Galactic Brain commercial data center node","detail":"","status":"planned","kind":"planned","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/aetherflux-announces-orbital-data-center-targets-q1-2027-302635961.html","publisher":"PR Newswire","quote":"Aetherflux's first data center node for commercial use is targeted for Q1 2027"}]},{"date":"Q1 2027","sortKey":"2027-03-28","programIds":["astro-digital"],"orgs":["Astro Digital"],"title":"SPAC close and Nasdaq listing","detail":"","status":"planned","kind":"planned","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://satnews.com/2026/09/30/astro-digital-to-go-public-via-587-million-spac-merger-with-proem-acquisition-corp-i/","publisher":"SatNews","quote":"closing, which is anticipated in the first quarter of 2027"}]},{"date":"early 2027 (Planet executive, as reported)","sortKey":"2027-03-28","programIds":["planet-labs"],"orgs":["Planet Labs"],"title":"Owl satellite compute demo with NVIDIA GPUs","detail":"","status":"planned","kind":"planned","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://www.satellitetoday.com/technology/2026/06/02/are-orbital-data-centers-the-next-frontier-of-ai-infrastructure/","publisher":"Via Satellite","quote":""}]},{"date":"by March 2027","sortKey":"2027-03-28","programIds":["comospace-compute-demo"],"orgs":["Comospace, Hangsheng Satellite and Yanhe Technology compute demo"],"title":"Two-satellite high-power in-space compute demonstration","detail":"","status":"planned","kind":"planned","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://www.china-in-space.com/p/china-seriously-backs-space-based","publisher":"China in Space","quote":"Two-satellite demonstration by March 2027"}]},{"date":"NET April 2027","sortKey":"2027-04-28","programIds":["lonestar-data-holdings"],"orgs":["Lonestar Data Holdings"],"title":"First StarVault storage payload on Sidus LizzieSat-4 (Bandwagon-6)","detail":"Moved from October 2026.","status":"planned","kind":"planned","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sidus-space-to-launch-lizziesat-4-and-lizziesat-5-together-on-spacex-bandwagon-6-302891457.html","publisher":"PR Newswire","quote":"targeted for no earlier than April 2027"}]},{"date":"2027","sortKey":"2027-12-28","programIds":["starcloud"],"orgs":["Starcloud"],"title":"Two Starcloud-2 satellites (8 kW each) on rideshare","detail":"Moved from October 2026.","status":"planned","kind":"planned","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/21/starcloud-raises-200-million-for-orbital-data-centers-as-launch-options-dry-up/","publisher":"TechCrunch","quote":"Two Starcloud-2 satellites (8 kW compute each) launching via rideshare in 2027"}]},{"date":"2027","sortKey":"2027-12-28","programIds":["lonestar-data-holdings"],"orgs":["Lonestar Data Holdings"],"title":"Second StarVault payload","detail":"","status":"planned","kind":"planned","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://lonestar.space/press-releases/starvault-the-world-s-first-commercial-data-storage-service-from-space","publisher":"Lonestar","quote":"The second payload is targeted for launch next year"}]},{"date":"2027","sortKey":"2027-12-28","programIds":["sophia-space","apex-space"],"orgs":["Sophia Space","Apex (satellite buses)"],"title":"TILE in-orbit demo on an Apex Nova bus","detail":"","status":"planned","kind":"planned","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://aviationweek.com/space/commercial-space/sophia-space-test-orbital-data-center-tech-apex-sat-2027","publisher":"Aviation Week","quote":""}]},{"date":"2027","sortKey":"2027-12-28","programIds":["cowboy-space"],"orgs":["Cowboy Space Corporation"],"title":"Reason-2: high-rate optical downlink plus thermal and power tests","detail":"","status":"planned","kind":"planned","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://finance.yahoo.com/technology/articles/cowboy-space-launches-reason-1-194400031.html","publisher":"Yahoo Finance","quote":"Reason-2 (2027 launch): will demonstrate optical data transmission from space to Earth at high rates"}]},{"date":"2027","sortKey":"2027-12-28","programIds":["orbital-compute"],"orgs":["Orbital"],"title":"Pathfinder: hosted GPU payload on a Falcon 9 rideshare","detail":"","status":"planned","kind":"planned","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/06/09/3308756/0/en/orbital-raises-oversubscribed-5m-pre-seed-round-to-build-ai-data-centers-in-space.html","publisher":"GlobeNewswire","quote":"Hosted GPU payload on SpaceX Falcon 9 rideshare (2027)"}]},{"date":"2027","sortKey":"2027-12-28","programIds":["axiom-space-odc","spacebilt"],"orgs":["Axiom Space Orbital Data Center","Spacebilt"],"title":"AxODC Node ISS (petabyte-class, optical link) delivered to the ISS","detail":"","status":"planned","kind":"planned","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://spacenews.com/axiom-and-spacebilt-to-establish-iss-data-center-node/","publisher":"SpaceNews","quote":"Axiom Space and Spacebilt announced plans Sept. 16 to deliver a data center node with optical communications links to the International Space Station in 2027"}]},{"date":"2027 (Nov 2025 plan said \"by early 2027\")","sortKey":"2027-12-28","programIds":["google-project-suncatcher","planet-labs"],"orgs":["Google Project Suncatcher","Planet Labs"],"title":"Two-satellite mission testing inter-satellite laser links","detail":"","status":"planned","kind":"planned","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://www.techtimes.com/articles/328482/20261002/google-project-suncatcher-reaches-orbit-cooling-not-radiation-now-defines-mission.htm","publisher":"Tech Times","quote":"2027: Two-satellite mission testing inter-satellite laser links"},{"url":"https://www.fool.com/investing/2026/10/02/why-planet-labs-stock-popped-on-friday/","publisher":"The Motley Fool","quote":"Google, an investor in Planet Labs, still plans to launch a pair of satellites next year"}]},{"date":"2027","sortKey":"2027-12-28","programIds":["spacex-orbital-compute"],"orgs":["SpaceX orbital compute (with xAI)"],"title":"First orbital compute satellites","detail":"","status":"planned","kind":"planned","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://www.investing.com/news/transcripts/spacex-at-goldman-sachs-communacopia--technology-conference-2026-compute-push-93CH-4896834","publisher":"Investing.com","quote":"We're actually targeting to fly our first orbital compute satellites next year."}]},{"date":"late 2027 (Musk target, as reported)","sortKey":"2027-12-28","programIds":["spacex-orbital-compute"],"orgs":["SpaceX orbital compute (with xAI)"],"title":"1 GW per year of orbital AI compute capacity","detail":"","status":"planned","kind":"planned","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/big-tech/spacex-unveils-11-million-square-foot-gigasat-factory-a-new-manufacturing-facility-for-space-based-data-centers-aims-for-1-gw-year-of-space-ai-compute-by-late-2027-from-its-satellites","publisher":"Tom's Hardware","quote":""}]},{"date":"Q4 2027","sortKey":"2027-12-28","programIds":["blue-origin-project-sunrise"],"orgs":["Blue Origin Project Sunrise"],"title":"TeraWave deployment begins (the backhaul Sunrise depends on)","detail":"","status":"planned","kind":"planned","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://www.cnbc.com/2026/01/21/bezos-blue-origin-satellite-internet-spacex-amazon.html","publisher":"CNBC","quote":"Deployment of satellites is planned to begin in the last quarter of 2027"}]},{"date":"~2027 (CAST paper)","sortKey":"2027-12-28","programIds":["casc-space-computing"],"orgs":["CASC and CAST space computing plan"],"title":"Experimental 10 kW-class computing satellite (about 1,000 kg)","detail":"","status":"planned","kind":"planned","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://www.china-in-space.com/p/state-owned-firms-confident-in-space","publisher":"China in Space","quote":"Experimental 10-kilowatt class satellite (1,000 kg)"}]},{"date":"2027","sortKey":"2027-12-28","programIds":["zhejiang-lab-three-body"],"orgs":["Three-Body Computing Constellation (Zhejiang Lab)"],"title":"About 100 computing satellites","detail":"","status":"planned","kind":"planned","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://www.cls.cn/detail/2037179","publisher":"Cailian Press","quote":"2027年前后完成约100颗计算卫星的建设"}]},{"date":"2025 to 2027","sortKey":"2027-12-28","programIds":["orbital-chenguang"],"orgs":["Orbital Chenguang (Beijing space data center)"],"title":"First computing constellation and key technologies","detail":"","status":"planned","kind":"planned","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://www.techrepublic.com/article/news-china-orbital-data-centers-apac/","publisher":"TechRepublic","quote":"2025-2027: Launch early computing satellites and solve technical barriers"}]},{"date":"NET 2028","sortKey":"2028-12-28","programIds":["starcloud","firefly-lunar-compute"],"orgs":["Starcloud","Firefly Aerospace (lunar-orbit compute host)"],"title":"SC-1L lunar-orbit compute demo on Firefly Elytra (Blue Ghost Mission 3)","detail":"","status":"planned","kind":"planned","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://fireflyspace.com/news/firefly-aerospace-signs-starcloud-as-commercial-customer-demonstrating-data-center-capabilities-around-the-moon/","publisher":"Firefly Aerospace","quote":"targeted to launch no earlier than 2028"}]},{"date":"as early as 2028","sortKey":"2028-12-28","programIds":["sophia-space"],"orgs":["Sophia Space"],"title":"10-satellite TILE constellation under the SLI lease framework","detail":"","status":"planned","kind":"planned","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://www.geekwire.com/2026/sophia-space-sli-300m-deal-computing-constellation/","publisher":"GeekWire","quote":"mission launches potentially beginning as early as 2028"}]},{"date":"NET end of 2028","sortKey":"2028-12-28","programIds":["cowboy-space"],"orgs":["Cowboy Space Corporation"],"title":"First launch of its own rocket (upper stage = 1 MW data center); Stampede launches from 2028","detail":"","status":"planned","kind":"planned","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://payloadspace.com/aetherflux-rebrands-pivots-business-and-raises-275m/","publisher":"Payload","quote":"no earlier than the end of 2028"}]},{"date":"2028","sortKey":"2028-12-28","programIds":["orbital-compute","reflex-aerospace"],"orgs":["Orbital","Reflex Aerospace (Orbital-1 platform)"],"title":"Orbital-1, first purpose-built compute satellite (Reflex bus)","detail":"","status":"planned","kind":"planned","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://techcrunch.com/2026/06/09/how-an-e-scooter-founder-raised-5-million-to-build-space-data-centers/","publisher":"TechCrunch","quote":"Its first full satellite, Orbital-1, is to follow in 2028"},{"url":"https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/orbital-partners-with-reflex-aerospace-for-space-data-center-constellation/","publisher":"DatacenterDynamics","quote":""}]},{"date":"2028","sortKey":"2028-12-28","programIds":["muon-space-condor-ultra"],"orgs":["Muon Space (Condor-Ultra bus)"],"title":"Condor-Ultra pathfinder delivery","detail":"","status":"planned","kind":"planned","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/muon-space-unveils-condor-ultra-starship-class-spacecraft-platform-built-for-scale-302789276.html","publisher":"PR Newswire","quote":"First Launch Target: 2028 (pathfinder delivery)"}]},{"date":"2028 (Overview Energy)","sortKey":"2028-12-28","programIds":["meta"],"orgs":["Meta (adjacent: Space Llama, space solar)"],"title":"Overview Energy orbital demonstration (supplier milestone)","detail":"","status":"planned","kind":"planned","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://www.pv-magazine.com/2026/04/27/meta-gains-early-access-to-1-gw-of-space-based-solar-power/","publisher":"pv magazine","quote":"An initial orbital demonstration is expected in 2028, followed by commercial power delivery in 2030."}]},{"date":"2028","sortKey":"2028-12-28","programIds":["k2-space"],"orgs":["K2 Space"],"title":"Operational commercial and national security constellations begin deployment","detail":"","status":"planned","kind":"planned","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/k2-space-raises-250m-at-3b-valuation-to-roll-out-a-new-class-of-high-capability-satellites-302638936.html","publisher":"PR Newswire","quote":"Operational commercial and national security constellations beginning deployment in 2028"}]},{"date":"2027 to 2028","sortKey":"2028-12-28","programIds":["ramon-space"],"orgs":["Ramon.Space"],"title":"Initial orbital data center launches (prototype 2027)","detail":"","status":"planned","kind":"planned","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://payloadspace.com/ramon-space-ingrasys-aim-to-fly-prototype-orbital-data-center-in-2027/","publisher":"Payload","quote":"initial launches in 2027 and 2028"}]},{"date":"Japanese FY2028 (by March 2029)","sortKey":"2028-12-28","programIds":["space-compass"],"orgs":["Space Compass (NTT and SKY Perfect JSAT)"],"title":"Launch HummingSat GEO optical relay","detail":"Moved from satellites 2025, operations 2026 (2021 plan).","status":"planned","kind":"planned","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://www.satellitetoday.com/manufacturing/2026/03/23/space-compass-purchases-first-optical-data-relay-satellite-from-swissto12/","publisher":"Via Satellite","quote":"set to launch in Japanese fiscal year 2028"}]},{"date":"late 2028","sortKey":"2028-12-28","programIds":["takeme2space"],"orgs":["TakeMe2Space"],"title":"Two 100 kg orbital data center satellites (NVIDIA Thor, 100 TB) on Falcon 9","detail":"","status":"planned","kind":"planned","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://www.whalesbook.com/news/English/technology/TakeMe2Space-to-Launch-Orbital-Data-Centres-on-SpaceX-Rocket-in-2028/6ab9e7835aacb956d0823f66","publisher":"Whalesbook","quote":"launch contract for deployment via SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in late 2028"}]},{"date":"2028 to 2029 (CEO expects Starship access then)","sortKey":"2029-12-28","programIds":["starcloud"],"orgs":["Starcloud"],"title":"Starcloud-3: 200 kW, about 3 t, deployed from Starship","detail":"","status":"planned","kind":"planned","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/30/starcloud-raises-170-million-series-ato-build-data-centers-in-space","publisher":"TechCrunch","quote":"Starcloud-3 is a 200 kilowatt, three-ton spacecraft"}]},{"date":"2030","sortKey":"2030-12-28","programIds":["sophia-space"],"orgs":["Sophia Space"],"title":"Orbital data centers","detail":"","status":"planned","kind":"planned","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://www.satellitetoday.com/technology/2026/06/23/sophia-space-raises-7m-selects-apex-space-bus-for-orbital-compute-demo/","publisher":"Via Satellite","quote":"a step on Sophia's plan to deploy orbital data centers by 2030"}]},{"date":"2030 (tentative)","sortKey":"2030-12-28","programIds":["orbital-compute"],"orgs":["Orbital"],"title":"First full-scale satellite","detail":"","status":"planned","kind":"planned","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://www.theregister.com/2026/04/15/orbital_space_datacenter_startup_economics/","publisher":"The Register","quote":"tentatively targeting 2030 for its first full-scale satellite"}]},{"date":"2030 (Musk)","sortKey":"2030-12-28","programIds":["spacex-orbital-compute"],"orgs":["SpaceX orbital compute (with xAI)"],"title":"100 GW per year of orbital AI compute","detail":"","status":"planned","kind":"planned","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/artificial-intelligence/spacex-acquires-xai-in-a-bid-to-make-orbiting-data-centers-a-reality-musk-plans-to-launch-a-million-tons-of-satellites-annually-targets-1tw-year-of-space-based-compute-capacity","publisher":"Tom's Hardware","quote":""}]},{"date":"~2030 (CAST paper)","sortKey":"2030-12-28","programIds":["casc-space-computing"],"orgs":["CASC and CAST space computing plan"],"title":"500 kW-class satellites (about 20,000 kg each)","detail":"","status":"planned","kind":"planned","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://www.china-in-space.com/p/state-owned-firms-confident-in-space","publisher":"China in Space","quote":"500-kilowatt class satellites (20,000 kg each)"}]},{"date":"2030 (as reported)","sortKey":"2030-12-28","programIds":["casc-space-computing"],"orgs":["CASC and CAST space computing plan"],"title":"Industrial-scale Space Cloud","detail":"","status":"planned","kind":"planned","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://www.asiafinancial.com/china-planning-to-put-ai-data-centres-in-space-over-next-5-years","publisher":"Asia Financial","quote":"Industrial-scale Space Cloud creation: By 2030"}]},{"date":"2030","sortKey":"2030-12-28","programIds":["ada-space-star-compute"],"orgs":["ADA Space Star Compute"],"title":"About 1,000 satellites networked and commercial service starts","detail":"","status":"planned","kind":"planned","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://m.dtm.com.cn/news/202601/181487.html","publisher":"DTM","quote":"千星规模组网并启动商用"}]},{"date":"2028 to 2030","sortKey":"2030-12-28","programIds":["orbital-chenguang"],"orgs":["Orbital Chenguang (Beijing space data center)"],"title":"Link space systems with ground data centers","detail":"","status":"planned","kind":"planned","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://www.techrepublic.com/article/news-china-orbital-data-centers-apac/","publisher":"TechRepublic","quote":"2028-2030: Link space-based systems with Earth-based data centers"}]},{"date":"2031","sortKey":"2031-12-28","programIds":["hanwha-space-ai-data-center"],"orgs":["Hanwha Systems space AI data center plan"],"title":"64 SAR satellites operational (data source for the orbital data center)","detail":"","status":"planned","kind":"planned","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/business/hanwha-to-invest-36b-in-launch-vehicles-satellites-and-orbiting-ai-data-center/12753789","publisher":"Korea JoongAng Daily","quote":"64 SAR satellites operational by 2031"}]},{"date":"2035","sortKey":"2035-12-28","programIds":["ada-space-star-compute"],"orgs":["ADA Space Star Compute"],"title":"Complete the 2,800-satellite computing network","detail":"","status":"planned","kind":"planned","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://m.dtm.com.cn/news/202601/181487.html","publisher":"DTM","quote":"2035年建成2800颗卫星太空算力网"}]},{"date":"2035","sortKey":"2035-12-28","programIds":["orbital-chenguang"],"orgs":["Orbital Chenguang (Beijing space data center)"],"title":"Gigawatt-scale space data center via in-orbit docking","detail":"","status":"planned","kind":"planned","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://english.news.cn/20251128/c7285192375c47c3987114c1b7eeba46/c.html","publisher":"Xinhua","quote":"Full establishment: By 2035"}]},{"date":"2036 (project manager, as reported)","sortKey":"2036-12-28","programIds":["ascend-thales-alenia"],"orgs":["ASCEND study (Thales Alenia Space-led)"],"title":"13 building blocks totalling 10 MW","detail":"","status":"planned","kind":"planned","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/27/europe-wants-to-deploy-data-centers-into-space-study-says.html","publisher":"CNBC","quote":"ASCEND aims to deploy 13 space data center building blocks with a total capacity of 10 megawatts in 2036"}]},{"date":"2050","sortKey":"2050-12-28","programIds":["ascend-thales-alenia"],"orgs":["ASCEND study (Thales Alenia Space-led)"],"title":"1,300 building blocks, 1 GW","detail":"","status":"planned","kind":"planned","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/27/europe-wants-to-deploy-data-centers-into-space-study-says.html","publisher":"CNBC","quote":"deploy 1,300 building blocks by 2050 to achieve 1 gigawatt"}]},{"date":"2026-06-09","sortKey":"2026-06-09","programIds":["orbital-compute"],"orgs":["Orbital"],"title":"$5M pre-seed announced","detail":"Company release.","status":"achieved","kind":"funding","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/06/09/3308756/0/en/orbital-raises-oversubscribed-5m-pre-seed-round-to-build-ai-data-centers-in-space.html","publisher":"GlobeNewswire","quote":""}]},{"date":"as early as 2028 (IPO prospectus)","sortKey":"2028-12-28","programIds":["spacex-orbital-compute"],"orgs":["SpaceX"],"title":"Begin deploying orbital AI compute satellites (IPO prospectus)","detail":"The CFO separately targets a first flight in 2027.","status":"planned","kind":"planned","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1181412/000162828026042639/spaceexplorationtechnologi.htm","publisher":"US SEC (SpaceX 424B4 prospectus)","quote":"We expect to begin deploying our orbital AI compute satellites as early as 2028."}]},{"date":"before March 2027","sortKey":"2027-03-28","programIds":["xingshu-tiansuan"],"orgs":["Shanghai Xingshu Tiansuan"],"title":"First satellite, Fuxi-1","detail":"","status":"planned","kind":"planned","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://finance.sina.com.cn/wm/2026-07-18/doc-iniifnzz8377184.shtml","publisher":"Sina Finance","quote":"星枢计划首发星座正式对外发布"}]},{"date":"2024-03-11","sortKey":"2024-03-11","programIds":["starcloud"],"orgs":["Starcloud"],"title":"$2.4M pre-seed as Lumen Orbit; demonstrator promised for May 2025","detail":"The demonstrator target was restated in December 2024 and the satellite flew on 2025-11-02, about six months later.","status":"achieved","kind":"funding","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://payloadspace.com/lumen-orbit-raises-2-4m-to-speed-up-downlink/","publisher":"Payload","quote":""},{"url":"https://techcrunch.com/2024/12/11/200-vcs-wanted-to-get-into-lumen-orbits-11m-seed-round","publisher":"TechCrunch","quote":""}]},{"date":"2026-06-09","sortKey":"2026-06-09","programIds":["spacex-orbital-compute"],"orgs":["SpaceX orbital compute (with xAI)"],"title":"Prospectus filing: fly compute satellites in 2027, service in 2028, meaningful compute in 2029","detail":"Free writing prospectus (a video interview of 2026-06-08, filed 2026-06-09). Most quoted lines are CFO Bret Johnsen. Musk calls the AI1 design \"a draft version\". About 200 launches per gigawatt; around 600 to 800 km.","status":"achieved","kind":"filing","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1181412/000162828026041761/fwp_cfointerview.htm","publisher":"US SEC (free writing prospectus, filed 2026-06-09)","quote":"We're going to start flying those satellites next year and we're targeting 2028 to turn on that service."},{"url":"https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1181412/000162828026041761/fwp_cfointerview.htm","publisher":"US SEC (free writing prospectus, filed 2026-06-09)","quote":"And I think in 2029, we'll have meaningful amounts of compute in space."},{"url":"https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1181412/000162828026041761/fwp_cfointerview.htm","publisher":"US SEC (free writing prospectus, filed 2026-06-09)","quote":"It's roughly 200 launches for every gigawatt that we put up."}]},{"date":"2025-08-15","sortKey":"2025-08-15","programIds":["orbital-chenguang"],"orgs":["Orbital Chenguang (Beijing space data center)"],"title":"Chenguang-1 launch promised for the end of 2025","detail":"Restated by Beijing on 2025-11-29 as end 2025 or early 2026. It launched on 2026-07-24 Beijing time, about seven months later.","status":"achieved","kind":"announced","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://file.finance.qq.com/finance/hs/pdf/2025/08/15/1224500754.PDF","publisher":"Shunhao investor relations record","quote":"我们预计 2025 年底首颗试验星发射"},{"url":"https://www.beijing.gov.cn/ywdt/gzdt/202511/t20251129_4311303.html","publisher":"Beijing municipal government","quote":""}]},{"date":"2025-10-13","sortKey":"2025-10-13","programIds":["ada-space-star-compute"],"orgs":["ADA Space Star Compute"],"title":"Group 02 announced, with the L-10 satellite claimed above 10 POPS","detail":"Company claim.","status":"achieved","kind":"announced","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://news.iqilu.com/shandong/yuanchuang/2025/1013/5858954.shtml","publisher":"iQilu","quote":""}]},{"date":"2023-04-13","sortKey":"2023-04-13","programIds":["kepler-compute"],"orgs":["Kepler Communications (Kepler Compute)"],"title":"Plan: launch the optical network in 2024, services by Q1 2025","detail":"The network launched on 2026-01-11, about 21 months after the 2024 target.","status":"achieved","kind":"announced","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.satellitetoday.com/finance/2023/04/13/kepler-communications-raises-92-million-in-a-series-c-round/","publisher":"Via Satellite","quote":""},{"url":"https://www.sdxcentral.com/news/kepler-communications-raises-92-million-for-optical-satellite-relay-network/","publisher":"SDxCentral","quote":""}]},{"date":"2023-12-19","sortKey":"2023-12-19","programIds":["axiom-space-odc"],"orgs":["Axiom Space Orbital Data Center"],"title":"Plan: an ISS orbital data center prototype in 2024","detail":"AxDCU-1 reached the ISS on 2025-08-24.","status":"achieved","kind":"announced","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://axiomspace.com/release/orbital-data-center","publisher":"Axiom Space","quote":""}]},{"date":"2025-04-07","sortKey":"2025-04-07","programIds":["axiom-space-odc"],"orgs":["Axiom Space Orbital Data Center"],"title":"Plan: Nodes 1 and 2 on Kepler satellites by the end of 2025","detail":"They launched on 2026-01-11 with Kepler's tranche, 11 days after the target.","status":"achieved","kind":"announced","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.axiomspace.com/release/axiom-space-to-launch-orbital-data-center-nodes-to-support-national-security-commercial-international-customers","publisher":"Axiom Space","quote":"by the end of this year"}]},{"date":"2026-09-30","sortKey":"2026-09-30","programIds":["sophia-space"],"orgs":["Sophia Space"],"title":"Memorandum of understanding with Redwire on orbital data center infrastructure","detail":"Redwire covers deployables, power, thermal and integration; the two plan joint bids.","status":"achieved","kind":"announced","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://sophia.space/news/sophia-space-and-redwire-team-up-to-advance-orbital-data-center-infrastructure","publisher":"Sophia Space","quote":""},{"url":"http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sophia-space-and-redwire-team-up-to-advance-orbital-data-center-infrastructure-302893808.html","publisher":"PR Newswire","quote":""}]},{"date":"2024-10-09","sortKey":"2024-10-09","programIds":["cowboy-space"],"orgs":["Cowboy Space Corporation"],"title":"First demonstration spacecraft promised for Q4 2025 or Q1 2026","detail":"Reason-1 flew on 2026-10-01, about six to twelve months after that window.","status":"achieved","kind":"announced","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://techcrunch.com/2024/10/09/billionaire-robinhood-co-founder-launches-aetherflux-a-space-based-solar-power-startup/","publisher":"TechCrunch","quote":"a demonstration spacecraft in the fourth quarter of 2025 or the first quarter of 2026"},{"url":"https://payloadspace.com/transporter-18-tests-the-building-blocks-of-orbital-data-centers/","publisher":"Payload","quote":""}]},{"date":"2026-08-28","sortKey":"2026-08-28","programIds":["cowboy-space"],"orgs":["Cowboy Space Corporation"],"title":"FCC sends an 11-part deficiency letter on the Stampede application","detail":"Responses were due 2026-09-11. No response was on file at that deadline (SatNews, 2026-09-13). We have not checked the FCC record since.","status":"achieved","kind":"filing","confidence":"reported","sources":[{"url":"http://satnews.com/2026/09/13/the-fcc-asked-cowboy-space-how-big-its-satellites-are/","publisher":"SatNews","quote":""}]},{"date":"2023-03-07","sortKey":"2023-03-07","programIds":["lonestar-data-holdings"],"orgs":["Lonestar Data Holdings"],"title":"IM-2 lunar data center payload promised for October 2023","detail":"It launched on IM-2 on 2025-02-26, about 16 months later; the host lander set the date.","status":"achieved","kind":"announced","confidence":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.theregister.com/2023/03/07/lonestar_secures_funding_for_lunar/","publisher":"The Register","quote":"IM-2 mission, currently penciled in for October this year"}]},{"date":"2026-08-05","sortKey":"2026-08-05","programIds":["space-string"],"orgs":["STAR.VISION Aerospace"],"title":"STAR.VISION pair launched on Jielong-3 Y12","detail":"Edge class; described by Hangzhou outlets as Space String's starting satellites.","status":"achieved","kind":"flown","confidence":"reported","sources":[{"url":"https://www.china-in-space.com/p/uzbek-indonesian-satellites-launched","publisher":"China in Space","quote":"a Jielong-3 ascended at 10:38 am China Standard Time (02:38 am Universal Coordinated Time) on August 5th"}],"launchKey":"Jielong-3 Y12 (2026-08-05)"},{"date":"2026-09-25","sortKey":"2026-09-25","programIds":["space-string"],"orgs":["STAR.VISION Aerospace","东方星链"],"title":"Space String announced at the 5th Global Digital Trade Expo","detail":"","status":"achieved","kind":"announced","confidence":"reported","sources":[{"url":"https://www.sohu.com/a/1081902506_114984","publisher":"Sohu (announcement)","quote":"远期规划部署超过1000颗太空智能体，分阶段推进，预计2035年完成千星组网"},{"url":"https://www.nbd.com.cn/articles/2026-09-28/4593860.html","publisher":"National Business Daily","quote":""}]},{"date":"Q4 2027","sortKey":"2027-12-28","programIds":["space-string"],"orgs":["STAR.VISION Aerospace"],"title":"G1 verification satellite (11.5 kW compute payload)","detail":"","status":"planned","kind":"planned","confidence":"company-claim","sources":[{"url":"https://www.sohu.com/a/1081902506_114984","publisher":"Sohu (announcement)","quote":"远期规划部署超过1000颗太空智能体，分阶段推进，预计2035年完成千星组网"}]}],"challenges":[{"topic":"Heat rejection (radiators)","summary":"In vacuum all waste heat must be radiated, so radiator area grows with power. Radiators and solar arrays dominate spacecraft mass. Google's first TPU satellite reportedly computes in short bursts because of heat.","numbers":["ISS: 70 kW of heat rejection (NASA EATCS document) over about 422 m² of radiator (SpaceComputer; sources give 325 to about 475 m²).","ABI Research: one 700 W H100 needs about 1.4 m2 of radiator at 60 C (radiator area needed grows about 40% as coatings degrade over 5 years); a 32-GPU, 40 kW rack needs about 80 m2.","Turyshev (JPL): a 1 MW node needs about 2,500 m2 of radiator plus 5,640 m2 of solar panels.","Suncatcher prototype: reported 15 to 20 minute compute bursts on about 1 kW (secondary press)."],"sources":[{"url":"https://spectrum.ieee.org/orbital-data-centers-heat","publisher":"IEEE Spectrum","quote":"The amount of power you can radiate is proportional to the area of the radiator times its temperature to the fourth power"},{"url":"https://www.cbsnews.com/network/news/space/background/EATCS.pdf","publisher":"CBS News (NASA EATCS document)","quote":"six deployed radiator arrays that provide the 70 kW heat rejection needs"},{"url":"https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.27197","publisher":"arXiv","quote":"Radiator area: 2,500 m^2 (1 MW anchor configuration)"},{"url":"https://www.techtimes.com/articles/328482/20261002/google-project-suncatcher-reaches-orbit-cooling-not-radiation-now-defines-mission.htm","publisher":"Tech Times","quote":""},{"url":"https://blog.spacecomputer.io/cooling-for-orbital-compute/","publisher":"SpaceComputer","quote":"rejects up to 70 kW using 422 m² of ammonia-loop radiators"}]},{"topic":"Power per satellite","summary":"Orbital solar is more productive than ground solar in a dawn-dusk orbit, but flown compute satellites supply about 1 to 8 kW while one modern AI rack draws tens of kW. Nothing near a single AI rack has flown.","numbers":["Google: a solar panel can be up to 8x more productive in the right orbit.","Flown or near-term: Suncatcher prototype about 1 kW (reported); Starcloud-2 8 kW per satellite (planned 2027).","IEEE Spectrum and McCalip model: 1 GW needs about 4,300 satellites of 240 kW each, about 30 million kg in total."],"sources":[{"url":"https://research.google/blog/exploring-a-space-based-scalable-ai-infrastructure-system-design/","publisher":"Google Research","quote":"In the right orbit, a solar panel can be up to 8 times more productive than on earth"},{"url":"https://spectrum.ieee.org/orbital-data-centers","publisher":"IEEE Spectrum","quote":"4,300 satellites needed for 1 GW capacity; 240 kilowatts per satellite"}]},{"topic":"Radiation","summary":"In shielded sun-synchronous LEO, total dose is manageable; single-event effects and memory errors matter more, especially for training. HBM is the weak point; storage controllers failed on HPE's first ISS computer.","numbers":["Google Trillium TPU test (67 MeV protons): expected dose about 750 rad(Si) over 5 years behind shielding; HBM irregularities began at 2 krad(Si), almost 3x the requirement; no hard failures up to 15 krad(Si).","Uncorrectable HBM errors work out to roughly 1 per 10 million inferences; the effect on training is untested.","HPE Spaceborne Computer-1: 9 of 20 SSDs failed.","NVIDIA has not published Space-1 radiation tolerance."],"sources":[{"url":"https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.19468","publisher":"arXiv","quote":"HBM-specific stress tests began to show irregularities after a cumulative dose of 2 krad(Si), which is almost 3x our minimum requirement for TID survival of 750 rad(Si)."},{"url":"https://issnationallab.org/iss360/supercomputing-in-space-hpes-spaceborne-computer-returns/","publisher":"ISS National Lab","quote":""},{"url":"https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10616076/","publisher":"IEEE Xplore","quote":"Proton Evaluation of Single Event Effects in the NVIDIA GPU Orin SoM"},{"url":"https://www.theregister.com/2024/01/24/updated_hpe_spaceborne_computer2/","publisher":"The Register","quote":"nine of the 20 SSDs"}]},{"topic":"Links between satellites","summary":"Training clusters need far more bandwidth than flown optical links provide. Google proposes flying satellites about 100 to 200 m apart to use commercial optics; its two-satellite test is planned for 2027.","numbers":["Google: about 10 Tbps per link needed; bench demo 1.6 Tbps bidirectional with one transceiver pair.","Flown: Kepler 2.5 Gbps per link; Three-Body up to 100 Gbps (claimed); Starlink inter-satellite up to 200 Gbps; TBIRD 200 Gbps to ground."],"sources":[{"url":"https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.19468","publisher":"arXiv","quote":"the required aggregate bandwidth per link, on the order of 10Tbps, is achievable by using Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) transceiver technology"},{"url":"https://tech.slashdot.org/story/24/01/31/0646208/starlinks-laser-system-is-beaming-42-million-gb-of-data-per-day","publisher":"Slashdot","quote":"We're passing over terabits per second [of data] every day across 9,000 lasers"},{"url":"https://news.cgtn.com/news/2025-05-14/China-launches-first-batch-of-space-computing-satellite-constellation-1DmXIysPKww/p.html","publisher":"CGTN","quote":""},{"url":"https://kepler.space/kepler-successfully-launches-first-tranche-of-optical-relay-satellites/","publisher":"Kepler Communications","quote":""},{"url":"https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/20230007959","publisher":"NASA Technical Reports Server","quote":""}]},{"topic":"Downlink, data gravity and latency","summary":"The strongest case is for data that starts in orbit, or shrinks a lot when processed. Shipping Earth data up and back adds tens of milliseconds, which suits batch work more than interactive serving.","numbers":["HPE SBC-2 genomics: 182 GB processed on the ISS, 13 MB downlinked.","LEO at 550 km: about 1.8 ms one-way propagation; real round trips about 30 to over 100 ms."],"sources":[{"url":"https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/genomics-testing-on-the-iss-with-hpe-spaceborne-computer2-and-azure/","publisher":"Microsoft Azure","quote":"the experiment examined 182GB of raw data and successfully downloaded only 13MB to Earth"},{"url":"https://arxiv.org/html/2603.20317","publisher":"arXiv","quote":"Which Workloads Belong in Orbit? A Workload-First Framework for Orbital Data Centers"}]},{"topic":"Launch cost and capacity","summary":"Every pro-orbit cost model depends on launch prices falling about 10x. Near term, rideshare capacity is itself scarce.","numbers":["Google: launch must reach about $200/kg by the mid-2030s, which assumes a sustained learning rate and about 1,800 Starship flights.","Google: launched power costs about $14,700/kW/yr at current prices, about $810/kW/yr at $200/kg, versus $570 to $3,000/kW/yr for US data center power.","McCalip calculator (default $500/kg, as run 2026-10-05): 1 GW over 5 years costs $51.1B in orbit vs $15.9B on the ground, excluding GPUs.","Starcloud CEO: Falcon 9 is scheduled to end in 2028."],"sources":[{"url":"https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.19468","publisher":"arXiv","quote":"launch to low-Earth orbit (LEO) may reach <=$200/kg by the mid-2030s"},{"url":"https://andrewmccalip.com/space-datacenters","publisher":"Andrew McCalip","quote":"it's not obviously stupid, and it's not a sure thing"},{"url":"https://finance.yahoo.com/technology/articles/starcloud-raises-250-million-orbital-140000469.html","publisher":"Yahoo Finance","quote":"Obviously if we can't book any SpaceX launch capacity in 2029, that will be challenging for us."}]},{"topic":"Servicing and hardware refresh","summary":"Nobody can swap a failed GPU in orbit, so designs must over-provision, and a 5-year satellite may outlast the chip's economic life.","numbers":["McCalip model: 9% a year GPU failure rate (Meta reference).","NVIDIA Space-1: designed for 5 years and 8,000 thermal cycles (reported)."],"sources":[{"url":"https://andrewmccalip.com/space-datacenters","publisher":"Andrew McCalip","quote":"9.0%/year GPU failure rate (Meta reference)"},{"url":"https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.19468","publisher":"arXiv","quote":"Currently, failed TPUs are manually replaced by technicians"}]},{"topic":"Debris, astronomy, atmosphere and regulation","summary":"Filed constellations would multiply the LEO population. No single regulator covers orbital data centers; the FCC has granted none of the large filings.","numbers":["SpaceX filing: about 100x the current LEO satellite population (AAS).","Nearly 1,500 FCC comments on the SpaceX filing.","ASCEND: launchers must be about 10x less emissive over their life cycle for a CO2 benefit."],"sources":[{"url":"https://aas.org/action-alert-provide-input-fcc-proposed-satellite-systems","publisher":"American Astronomical Society","quote":"This constellation would represent a factor-of-100 increase over the current satellite population in low Earth orbit."},{"url":"http://www.wilmerhale.com/en/insights/client-alerts/20261001-not-just-science-fiction-the-legal-reality-of-orbital-data-centers","publisher":"WilmerHale","quote":"no single regulator for orbital data centers"},{"url":"https://www.thalesaleniaspace.com/en/press-releases/thales-alenia-space-reveals-results-ascend-feasibility-study-space-data-centers-0","publisher":"Thales Alenia Space","quote":""}]},{"topic":"Power is a small share of AI data center cost","summary":"The core pitch is free solar power, but electricity is a small share of AI data center economics; chips, launch, insurance and redundancy dominate and rise in orbit.","numbers":["Chanos: electricity is about 5 to 7% of AI data center revenue in recent deals.","Google compares launched power price with the terrestrial power bill only, not total cost of ownership."],"sources":[{"url":"https://finance.yahoo.com/news/short-seller-jim-chanos-calls-013115967.html","publisher":"Yahoo Finance","quote":"Launch, radiation, insurance and redundancy costs would be greater."},{"url":"https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.19468","publisher":"arXiv","quote":"The below does not constitute a full economic analysis"}]}],"skeptics":[{"who":"ASCEND consortium (Thales Alenia Space-led, EU)","date":"2024-06-27","argument":"Feasible in principle, but a CO2 benefit needs a launcher about 10x less emissive over its life cycle.","sources":[{"url":"https://www.thalesaleniaspace.com/en/press-releases/thales-alenia-space-reveals-results-ascend-feasibility-study-space-data-centers-0","publisher":"Thales Alenia Space","quote":""}]},{"who":"Andrew McCalip (aerospace engineer), cost model","date":"2025-12","argument":"At the calculator's current default of $500/kg (as run 2026-10-05), 1 GW for 5 years costs $51.1B in orbit vs $15.9B on the ground, excluding GPUs: about 3.2x by our division.","sources":[{"url":"https://andrewmccalip.com/space-datacenters","publisher":"Andrew McCalip","quote":""}]},{"who":"The Intercept","date":"2026-01-12","argument":"Questioned the sudden promotion of orbital data centers; raised environmental and hype concerns.","sources":[{"url":"https://theintercept.com/2026/01/12/data-centers-space-ai/","publisher":"The Intercept","quote":""}]},{"who":"CNBC analysis","date":"2026-02-02","argument":"The SpaceX-xAI merger is driven by xAI's need for capital; data centers in space \"are still a dream.\"","sources":[{"url":"https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/02/musks-xai-needs-spacex-for-money-data-centers-in-space-are-a-dream.html","publisher":"CNBC","quote":""}]},{"who":"Jim Chanos (short seller)","date":"2026-02-18","argument":"\"AI Snake Oil\": electricity is only 5 to 7% of AI data center revenue, and launch, radiation, insurance and redundancy costs are higher in orbit.","sources":[{"url":"https://finance.yahoo.com/news/short-seller-jim-chanos-calls-013115967.html","publisher":"Yahoo Finance","quote":""}]},{"who":"Sam Altman (OpenAI CEO)","date":"2026-02-23","argument":"Called the idea \"ridiculous\" in the current landscape; failed chips cannot be repaired; will not matter at scale this decade.","sources":[{"url":"https://www.techzine.eu/news/infrastructure/138990/openai-ceo-sam-altman-expects-no-space-based-data-centers-this-decade/","publisher":"Techzine","quote":""},{"url":"https://gizmodo.com/heated-rivals-musk-and-altman-disagree-on-one-more-thing-data-centers-in-space-2000725311","publisher":"Gizmodo","quote":"I honestly think the idea with the current landscape of putting data centers in space is ridiculous"}]},{"who":"Bill Ray (Gartner)","date":"2026-02","argument":"\"Peak insanity\": money pouring into an orbital data center bubble despite launch cost and cooling problems.","sources":[{"url":"https://dataconomy.com/2026/02/27/industry-leaders-slam-spacexs-insane-orbital-data-center-plan/","publisher":"Dataconomy","quote":""}]},{"who":"Jensen Huang (NVIDIA CEO), as reported","date":"2026-02","argument":"Economics are poor today because of heat dissipation. NVIDIA launched its Space-1 module a month later.","sources":[{"url":"https://dataconomy.com/2026/02/27/industry-leaders-slam-spacexs-insane-orbital-data-center-plan/","publisher":"Dataconomy","quote":""}]},{"who":"Astronomers (John Barentine; Olivier Hainaut, ESO) and the American Astronomical Society","date":"2026-02","argument":"A million-satellite constellation would undo brightness mitigation and degrade detection of hazardous near-Earth objects.","sources":[{"url":"https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2026/0225/data-centers-satellite-earth-space","publisher":"Christian Science Monitor","quote":"Thousands of bright satellites would actually degrade our ability to detect some of the threatening [near Earth objects]."},{"url":"https://aas.org/action-alert-provide-input-fcc-proposed-satellite-systems","publisher":"American Astronomical Society","quote":""}]},{"who":"Glenn Zorpette, IEEE Spectrum","date":"2026-02-26","argument":"Revised modeling finds orbit about 3x costlier: roughly $51B vs $16B for 1 GW over 5 years.","sources":[{"url":"https://spectrum.ieee.org/orbital-data-centers","publisher":"IEEE Spectrum","quote":""}]},{"who":"Slava G. Turyshev (NASA JPL), arXiv 2604.27197","date":"2026-04-29","argument":"Launch plus build must cost only $250 to $1,000/kg, and current Falcon 9 pricing is a factor of 3.4 to 13.5 off; credible near term only for space-native preprocessing and edge compute.","sources":[{"url":"https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.27197","publisher":"arXiv","quote":"Space-based preprocessing and edge computing near communications infrastructure represent credible near-term applications"}]},{"who":"NASA (FCC comment on Blue Origin Project Sunrise)","date":"2026-05-05","argument":"The 51,600-satellite filing lacked the transparency, rigor and coordination needed for space safety.","sources":[{"url":"https://www.advanced-television.com/2026/05/05/nasa-objects-to-blue-origins-51600-satellites","publisher":"Advanced Television","quote":"requires commensurate transparency, technical rigor, and coordination to ensure long-term safety"}]},{"who":"Andrew Cavalier (ABI Research), in IEEE Spectrum","date":"2026-06-11","argument":"Radiators and arrays take 65 to 70% of satellite mass; even at $44/kg, orbital compute costs at least 10x terrestrial.","sources":[{"url":"https://spectrum.ieee.org/orbital-data-centers-heat","publisher":"IEEE Spectrum","quote":""}]},{"who":"Bank of America (SpaceX initiation)","date":"2026-07-07","argument":"Orbital compute is not yet proven; heat dissipation and chip performance in space are unsolved.","sources":[{"url":"https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/07/banks-start-bullish-ratings-on-spacex-apex-of-civilizational-ambition.html","publisher":"CNBC","quote":""}]},{"who":"Brandon Karpf (NTT), via Via Satellite","date":"2026-06-02","argument":"Only sovereign cloud is viable today; space links are one to two orders of magnitude below a 7.2 Tbps NVIDIA cluster.","sources":[{"url":"https://www.satellitetoday.com/technology/2026/06/02/are-orbital-data-centers-the-next-frontier-of-ai-infrastructure/","publisher":"Via Satellite","quote":""}]}],"forecasts":[{"analyst":"BCG","date":"2026-08-27","label":"forecast","claim":"Space data centers could take 10 to 15% of the global AI data center market by 2040, $240B to $320B a year. Cost today 2.5x to 3x terrestrial per MW, narrowing to about 1.5x to 1.8x by 2030 to 2035.","sources":[{"url":"https://www.bcg.com/publications/2026/space-based-data-centers-cost-outlook","publisher":"BCG","quote":""}]},{"analyst":"Deutsche Bank","date":"2026-07-14","label":"forecast","claim":"A 1 GW orbital constellation costs about 6x terrestrial today excluding compute; 1.0x to 1.5x by end of decade; cheaper in the early-to-mid 2030s.","sources":[{"url":"https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/deutsche-bank-sees-spacex-orbital-data-centers-matching-ground-costs-93CH-4790612","publisher":"Investing.com","quote":""}]},{"analyst":"ARK Invest (Brett Winton)","date":"2026-06-11","label":"forecast","claim":"SpaceX could earn $300B a year from tens of GW of orbital data center capacity by the late 2020s at current rental rates.","sources":[{"url":"https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-06-11/spacex-holder-ark-sees-300-billion-win-on-orbital-data-centers","publisher":"Bloomberg","quote":""}],"note":"ARK is a SpaceX shareholder."},{"analyst":"SpaceX (S-1)","date":"2026-05-20","label":"company claim","claim":"Total addressable market $28.5T, of which $26.5T AI; risk factor says orbital data centers \"may not achieve commercial viability\".","sources":[{"url":"https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1181412/000162828026036936/spaceexplorationtechnologi.htm","publisher":"US SEC","quote":""}]},{"analyst":"JLL","date":"2026-06","label":"analysis","claim":"Relays about $500/kg, which it attributes to Starcloud's CEO in a McKinsey interview, as the launch price at which space compute becomes cost-competitive; hyperscaler pilots 2027 to 2028.","sources":[{"url":"https://www.jll.com/en-us/insights/data-centers-in-space","publisher":"JLL","quote":""}]},{"analyst":"Google Research (Suncatcher paper)","date":"2025-11-04","label":"analysis","claim":"Launch below about $200/kg by the mid-2030s could make orbital compute roughly comparable per kW-year to terrestrial power spend. The same paper estimates about 1,800 Starship launches for the cumulative mass.","sources":[{"url":"https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.19468","publisher":"arXiv","quote":""},{"url":"https://services.google.com/fh/files/misc/suncatcher_paper.pdf","publisher":"Google","quote":"if launch costs reach <=$200/kg, annualized cost per unit of power in space could be approximately comparable to terrestrial spend"}]},{"analyst":"Goldman Sachs Global Institute","date":"2026-08-11","label":"forecast","claim":"Global space economy $1.8T by 2035; orbit being recast as compute infrastructure (no orbital data center figure).","sources":[{"url":"https://www.goldmansachs.com/pdfs/insights/articles/the-second-space-age-how-markets-technology-and-power-are-reshaping-the-final-frontier/GS_Jul_GSGI_Second_Space_Age_08-11.pdf","publisher":"Goldman Sachs","quote":""}]},{"analyst":"ASCEND study","date":"2024-06-27","label":"analysis","claim":"Return of several billion euros by 2050 for 1 GW, conditional on a 10x less emissive launcher.","sources":[{"url":"https://www.thalesaleniaspace.com/en/press-releases/thales-alenia-space-reveals-results-ascend-feasibility-study-space-data-centers-0","publisher":"Thales Alenia Space","quote":""}]},{"analyst":"Industry voices in Via Satellite (Ramon.Space, Planet, Lonestar, Alpha Funds)","date":"2026-06-02","label":"opinion","claim":"Micro data centers in orbit in 3 to 5 years (Ramon.Space CEO); useful clusters in 2 to 3 years and competitive in about a decade (Planet); full scale in 5 to 10 years (Lonestar CEO); revenue in the early 2030s (Alpha Funds).","sources":[{"url":"https://www.satellitetoday.com/technology/2026/06/02/are-orbital-data-centers-the-next-frontier-of-ai-infrastructure/","publisher":"Via Satellite","quote":""}]},{"analyst":"BIS Research","date":"undated","label":"forecast (vendor report, low rigour)","claim":"In-orbit data center market $1.77B in 2029 to $39.09B by 2035.","sources":[{"url":"https://bisresearch.com/industry-report/in-orbit-data-centers-market.html","publisher":"BIS Research","quote":""}]},{"analyst":"DC Market Insights","date":"undated","label":"forecast (vendor report, low rigour)","claim":"$471.45M in 2025 to $26.23B by 2035.","sources":[{"url":"https://www.dcmarketinsights.com/report/in-orbit-data-centers-market","publisher":"DC Market Insights","quote":""}]},{"analyst":"Globe Market Research","date":"undated","label":"forecast (vendor report, low rigour)","claim":"$1.9B in 2026 to $8.4B by 2035.","sources":[{"url":"https://www.globemarketresearch.com/reports/space-based-data-center-market","publisher":"Globe Market Research","quote":""}]}],"policy":[{"topic":"FCC: SpaceX Orbital Data Center System (up to 1,000,000 satellites)","date":"2026-01-30","body":"FCC","detail":"File SAT-LOA-20260108-00016; accepted for filing DA 26-113 on 2026-02-04; nearly 1,500 comments (AAS count); AAS, Royal Astronomical Society and others opposed. Not granted as of 2026-10-05.","sources":[{"url":"https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-26-113A1.txt","publisher":"FCC","quote":""},{"url":"https://aas.org/action-alert-provide-input-fcc-proposed-satellite-systems","publisher":"American Astronomical Society","quote":""}]},{"topic":"FCC: Starcloud (up to 88,000 satellites)","date":"2026-02-04","body":"FCC","detail":"Accepted 2026-03-13. The AAS urged denial or a stay; Secure World Foundation said such filings raise novel governance questions.","sources":[{"url":"https://communicationsdaily.com/news/2026/04/17/starcloud-space-data-center-plan-sees-objections-and-criticisms-2604160014","publisher":"Communications Daily","quote":""},{"url":"https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-419509A1.txt","publisher":"FCC","quote":"Date filed: 2026-02-04"}]},{"topic":"FCC: Blue Origin Project Sunrise (up to 51,600 satellites)","date":"2026-03-19","body":"FCC","detail":"NASA objected 2026-05-05 citing human spaceflight paths, debris mitigation and launch windows; DarkSky and the Center for Space Environmentalism also objected.","sources":[{"url":"https://satnews.com/2026/05/05/nasa-objects-to-blue-origins-project-sunrise/","publisher":"SatNews","quote":""}]},{"topic":"FCC: Cowboy Space Stampede (up to 20,000 satellites)","date":"2026-05-14","body":"FCC","detail":"700 to 1,000 km dawn-dusk SSO; about 1 MW per satellite.","sources":[{"url":"https://spacenews.com/cowboy-files-plans-for-up-to-20000-orbital-data-centers/","publisher":"SpaceNews","quote":""}]},{"topic":"FCC: Orbital (up to 100,000 satellites, about 10 GW)","date":"2026-06-24","body":"FCC","detail":"","sources":[{"url":"https://broadbandbreakfast.com/orbital-seeks-fcc-approval-for-100-000-satellite-data-center-constellation/","publisher":"Broadband Breakfast","quote":""}]},{"topic":"FCC 26-47: Space Modernization for the 21st Century","date":"2026-07-23","body":"FCC","detail":"New licensing framework; the FCC found constellation-level debris rules \"premature to adopt\".","sources":[{"url":"http://www.wilmerhale.com/en/insights/client-alerts/20261001-not-just-science-fiction-the-legal-reality-of-orbital-data-centers","publisher":"WilmerHale","quote":""}]},{"topic":"Office of Space Commerce certification pilot","date":"2026-08-20","body":"US Department of Commerce","detail":"Voluntary, non-binding certification for novel activities that names orbital datacenters; submissions due 2026-10-05; no direct legal effect.","sources":[{"url":"https://www.cooley.com/news/insight/2026/2026-09-02-osc-releases-call-for-interest-in-space-commerce-certification-pilot-program","publisher":"Cooley","quote":""}]},{"topic":"ITU: China filings for about 193,000 satellites (CTC-1 and CTC-2)","date":"2025-12","body":"ITU","detail":"Part of over 200,000 satellites filed in late December 2025; ITU filings are spectrum claims, not build commitments.","sources":[{"url":"https://satnews.com/2026/01/12/as-spacex-targets-50000-starlink-satellites-china-files-for-200000-unit-mega-constellation/","publisher":"SatNews","quote":""}]},{"topic":"China: space computing industrial policy","date":"2026","body":"China (CASC, MIIT, Beijing)","detail":"15th Five-Year Plan includes integrated communication-navigation-sensing-computing; MIIT set up a Space Computing Technical Group (April 2026) and Working Group (2026-06-03); MIIT grants reported at 10 projects a year of RMB 10M each; Beijing plans a space data center above 1 GW by 2035.","sources":[{"url":"https://www.china-in-space.com/p/china-moves-to-manage-space-based","publisher":"China in Space","quote":""},{"url":"https://english.news.cn/20251128/c7285192375c47c3987114c1b7eeba46/c.html","publisher":"Xinhua","quote":""}]},{"topic":"Export controls: Remote Access Security Act","date":"2026-01-12","body":"US Congress","detail":"Passed the House 369 to 22; Senate bill S.3519 pending. Extends export controls to remote access of controlled chips. No source addresses GPUs in orbit directly; our inference, labelled as such: an orbital cloud serving foreign users would face the same remote-access test as a ground cloud.","sources":[{"url":"https://www.lw.com/en/insights/what-the-remote-access-security-act-means-for-export-controls-compliance-programs","publisher":"Latham & Watkins","quote":""}]},{"topic":"Data sovereignty and jurisdiction","date":"2026-10-01","body":"Legal commentary","detail":"WilmerHale: GDPR and the US CLOUD Act still apply to data processed in orbit. Rest of World reports Global South concerns about data localization.","sources":[{"url":"http://www.wilmerhale.com/en/insights/client-alerts/20261001-not-just-science-fiction-the-legal-reality-of-orbital-data-centers","publisher":"WilmerHale","quote":""},{"url":"https://restofworld.org/2026/orbital-data-centers-ai-sovereignty/","publisher":"Rest of World","quote":""}]},{"topic":"Public funding: ESA Space Cloud, EU ASCEND, Texas, JAXA","date":"2023 to 2026","body":"Agencies","detail":"EU Horizon ASCEND study EUR 2,047,882; ESA Space Cloud Phase I to Edge Aerospace (2026-05-05); Texas Space Commission up to $5.5M to Axiom (to 2027-11-30); JAXA Space Strategy Fund theme for orbital data center technology (SpaceBlast) and up to JPY 23.5B to Space Compass for optical relay.","sources":[{"url":"https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101082517","publisher":"EU CORDIS","quote":""},{"url":"https://payloadspace.com/esa-selects-edge-aerospace-to-study-orbital-data-center-concepts/","publisher":"Payload","quote":""},{"url":"https://www.axiomspace.com/release/texas-space-commission-fuels-orbital-data-center","publisher":"Axiom Space","quote":""},{"url":"https://spaceblast.co.jp/news/2011/","publisher":"SpaceBlast","quote":""},{"url":"https://www.skyperfectjsat.space/en/news/20260422","publisher":"SKY Perfect JSAT","quote":""}]}],"funding":{"definition":"Sum of disclosed USD equity rounds for companies whose main business is orbital compute or storage, counting only rounds backed by a company or regulatory release or by two independent outlets. Excludes single-source rounds, credit lines, program commitments, government grants, non-USD rounds (not converted) and enabler companies (K2 Space, Kepler, Ramon.Space).","included":[{"program":"starcloud","date":"2024-03-11","amount":2400000,"currency":"USD","round":"Pre-seed (as Lumen Orbit)","verified":true},{"program":"starcloud","date":"2024-12-11","amount":11000000,"currency":"USD","round":"Seed (as Lumen Orbit)","verified":true},{"program":"starcloud","date":"2025-02-26","amount":10000000,"currency":"USD","round":"Seed extension (SAFE)","verified":true},{"program":"starcloud","date":"2026-03-30","amount":170000000,"currency":"USD","round":"Series A ($1.1B valuation)","verified":true},{"program":"starcloud","date":"2026-08-21","amount":250000000,"currency":"USD","round":"Series A extension ($2.3B valuation)","verified":true},{"program":"lonestar-data-holdings","date":"2023-03-06","amount":5000000,"currency":"USD","round":"Seed","verified":true},{"program":"sophia-space","date":"2025-05-19","amount":3500000,"currency":"USD","round":"Pre-seed","verified":true},{"program":"sophia-space","date":"2026-02-24","amount":10000000,"currency":"USD","round":"Seed","verified":true},{"program":"sophia-space","date":"2026-06-23","amount":7000000,"currency":"USD","round":"SAFE","verified":true},{"program":"cowboy-space","date":"2025-04-02","amount":50000000,"currency":"USD","round":"Series A","verified":true},{"program":"cowboy-space","date":"2026-05-11","amount":275000000,"currency":"USD","round":"Series B ($2B valuation)","verified":true},{"program":"orbital-compute","date":"2026-06-09","amount":5000000,"currency":"USD","round":"Pre-seed","verified":true},{"program":"aethero","date":"2025-06-10","amount":8400000,"currency":"USD","round":"Seed","verified":true},{"program":"takeme2space","date":"2026-01-08","amount":5000000,"currency":"USD","round":"Seed","verified":true},{"program":"satlyt","date":"2026-10-01","amount":8000000,"currency":"USD","round":"Seed","verified":true}],"excludedButListed":[{"program":"lonestar-data-holdings","date":"2023-10-18","amount":825000,"currency":"USD","round":"Pre-Series A","verified":false,"why":"single source"},{"program":"lonestar-data-holdings","date":"2026-01-14","amount":6600000,"currency":"USD","round":"Seed-plus","verified":false,"why":"single source"},{"program":"k2-space","date":"2025-12-11","amount":250000000,"currency":"USD","round":"Series C ($3B valuation)","verified":true,"why":"not an orbital-data-center-dedicated company, or predates its ODC program"},{"program":"ada-space-star-compute","date":"2026-04","amount":3550000000,"currency":"CNY","round":"Pre-IPO (RMB 11.554B post-money)","verified":true,"why":"not an orbital-data-center-dedicated company, or predates its ODC program"},{"program":"orbital-chenguang","date":"2026-04-20","amount":170000000,"currency":"CNY","round":"Pre-A1","verified":false,"why":"not an orbital-data-center-dedicated company, or predates its ODC program"},{"program":"ramon-space","date":"2023-06-28","amount":26000000,"currency":"USD","round":"Series B","verified":true,"why":"not an orbital-data-center-dedicated company, or predates its ODC program"},{"program":"kepler-compute","date":"2023-04-13","amount":92000000,"currency":"USD","round":"Series C","verified":true,"why":"not an orbital-data-center-dedicated company, or predates its ODC program"},{"program":"k2-space","date":"2026-07-30","amount":500000000,"currency":"USD","round":"Series D ($6.8B valuation)","verified":true,"why":"enabler"},{"program":"pixxel-sarvam-pathfinder","date":"2026-09-07","amount":100000000,"currency":"USD","round":"Series C (Pixxel, company-wide)","verified":false,"why":"company-wide"}],"separate":{"ramonSpace2023SeriesB":26000000,"k2SpaceSeriesC":250000000,"governmentAndStudy":["Texas Space Commission up to $5.5M (Axiom)","EU ASCEND EUR 2,047,882","JAXA up to JPY 23.5B (Space Compass, optical relay)","MIIT RMB 10M x 10 projects a year (reported)"],"chinaEquityNotConverted":["ADA Space pre-IPO RMB 3.55B (single source)","Orbital Chenguang A1 RMB 170M (single source)"],"creditLinesNotFunding":["Orbital Chenguang RMB 57.7B (12 financial institutions)","ADA Space RMB 5B (Bank of China Sichuan branch)"]}},"research":{"costModels":{"points":[{"id":"sun-3600","model":"Google Suncatcher","year":2025,"launch":3600,"ratio":[4.9,25.8],"derived":true,"scope":"launch","note":"Launched power at $14,700 per kW-year against $570 to $3,000 for US data center power","sources":[{"url":"https://services.google.com/fh/files/misc/suncatcher_paper.pdf","publisher":"Google Research (Suncatcher paper)","quote":""}]},{"id":"uva-1600","model":"UVA NSDPI (McCalip model)","year":2026,"launch":1600,"ratio":[8.2,8.2],"derived":true,"scope":"ex","note":"$135.6B vs $16.6B over five years, excluding GPUs","sources":[{"url":"https://nationalsecurity.virginia.edu/sites/default/files/files/2026-05/00036_20260519)_nsdpi_evaluating_space-based_data_center_architectures-capabilitites,_constraints,_and_trade-offs.pdf","publisher":"University of Virginia NSDPI","quote":""}]},{"id":"bcg-1500","model":"BCG","year":2026,"launch":1500,"ratio":[2.5,3],"scope":"full","note":"20-year total cost per MW, including GPUs","sources":[{"url":"https://www.bcg.com/publications/2026/space-based-data-centers-cost-outlook","publisher":"BCG","quote":""}]},{"id":"semi-1600","model":"SemiAnalysis","year":2026,"launch":1600,"launchRange":[1400,1800],"ratio":[3.6,3.6],"scope":"full","note":"$8.64 vs $2.37 per GPU-hour","sources":[{"url":"https://newsletter.semianalysis.com/p/to-boldly-go-the-case-for-space-datacenters","publisher":"SemiAnalysis","quote":"$8.64/hr/GPU for a space-based deployment, compared to $2.37/hr/GPU"}]},{"id":"bain-600","model":"Bain","year":2026,"launch":600,"ratio":[1.5,1.5],"scope":"other","note":"Capital cost per kW at 100 MW (\"roughly 50% more\")","sources":[{"url":"https://www.bain.com/insights/orbital-data-centers-beyond-the-grid/","publisher":"Bain","quote":"launch costs would likely need to fall closer to $50-$100 per kilogram"}]},{"id":"mcc-500","model":"McCalip calculator default","year":2026,"launch":500,"ratio":[3.2,3.2],"derived":true,"scope":"ex","note":"$51.1B vs $15.9B over five years, excluding GPUs; as run 2026-10-05 (the calculator changes)","sources":[{"url":"https://andrewmccalip.com/space-datacenters","publisher":"Andrew McCalip (calculator)","quote":""}]},{"id":"bcg-500","model":"BCG realistic scenario","year":2026,"launch":500,"launchDerived":true,"ratio":[1.5,1.8],"scope":"full","note":"A 67% launch cost cut, mapped to about $500/kg by us; the scenario also assumes lighter satellites","sources":[{"url":"https://www.bcg.com/publications/2026/space-based-data-centers-cost-outlook","publisher":"BCG","quote":""}]},{"id":"db-398","model":"Deutsche Bank path, 2029","year":2026,"launch":398,"secondary":true,"ratio":[1.2,1.2],"scope":"ex","note":"Excludes compute; against non-compute ground costs","sources":[{"url":"https://www.bitget.com/news/detail/12560605508956","publisher":"Bitget (relay of a Deutsche Bank report)","quote":"$4,933 per kg; with partial reuse, down to $398; with full reuse, $170"},{"url":"https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/deutsche-bank-sees-spacex-orbital-data-centers-matching-ground-costs-93CH-4790612","publisher":"Investing.com (Deutsche Bank report)","quote":"would currently cost six times more than terrestrial alternatives excluding compute costs"}]},{"id":"sun-300","model":"Google Suncatcher","year":2025,"launch":300,"ratio":[0.4,2.1],"derived":true,"scope":"launch","note":"$1,200 per kW-year of launched power","sources":[{"url":"https://services.google.com/fh/files/misc/suncatcher_paper.pdf","publisher":"Google Research (Suncatcher paper)","quote":""}]},{"id":"fore-250","model":"Forethought conservative scenario","year":2026,"launch":250,"ratio":[1.28,1.28],"derived":true,"scope":"other","note":"$48.2B vs $37.6B for 1 GW; the scenario also changes mass and thermal assumptions","sources":[{"url":"https://www.forethought.org/research/will-we-really-put-data-centers-in-space","publisher":"Forethought","quote":""}]},{"id":"sun-200","model":"Google Suncatcher","year":2025,"launch":200,"ratio":[0.27,1.42],"derived":true,"scope":"launch","note":"$810 per kW-year of launched power","sources":[{"url":"https://services.google.com/fh/files/misc/suncatcher_paper.pdf","publisher":"Google Research (Suncatcher paper)","quote":""}]},{"id":"gs-183","model":"Goldman Sachs, 2030","year":2026,"launch":183,"secondary":true,"ratio":[0.47,0.71],"derived":true,"scope":"other","note":"$15B to $20B vs $28B to $32B per GW; scope not disclosed","sources":[{"url":"https://fasterplease.substack.com/p/wall-street-on-spacex-everything","publisher":"Faster, Please! (relay of a Goldman Sachs note)","quote":"Starship launch vehicles will reach $183 cost per kg"}]},{"id":"db-170","model":"Deutsche Bank path, 2032","year":2026,"launch":170,"secondary":true,"ratio":[0.6,0.6],"scope":"ex","note":"Excludes compute; against non-compute ground costs","sources":[{"url":"https://www.bitget.com/news/detail/12560605508956","publisher":"Bitget (relay of a Deutsche Bank report)","quote":"$4,933 per kg; with partial reuse, down to $398; with full reuse, $170"},{"url":"https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/deutsche-bank-sees-spacex-orbital-data-centers-matching-ground-costs-93CH-4790612","publisher":"Investing.com (Deutsche Bank report)","quote":"would currently cost six times more than terrestrial alternatives excluding compute costs"}]},{"id":"fore-100","model":"Forethought median scenario","year":2026,"launch":100,"ratio":[0.93,0.93],"derived":true,"scope":"other","note":"$35.0B vs $37.6B; also changes mass and thermal assumptions","sources":[{"url":"https://www.forethought.org/research/will-we-really-put-data-centers-in-space","publisher":"Forethought","quote":""}]},{"id":"bcg-100","model":"BCG aggressive scenario","year":2026,"launch":100,"launchDerived":true,"ratio":[1.1,1.2],"scope":"full","note":"\"Full Starship economics\", mapped to about $100/kg by us","sources":[{"url":"https://www.bcg.com/publications/2026/space-based-data-centers-cost-outlook","publisher":"BCG","quote":""}]},{"id":"fore-50","model":"Forethought bullish scenario","year":2026,"launch":50,"ratio":[0.81,0.81],"derived":true,"scope":"other","note":"$30.3B vs $37.6B; also changes mass and thermal assumptions","sources":[{"url":"https://www.forethought.org/research/will-we-really-put-data-centers-in-space","publisher":"Forethought","quote":""}]},{"id":"abi-44","model":"ABI Research","year":2026,"launch":44,"ratio":[10,10],"atLeast":true,"scope":"other","note":"At least 10x even at $44/kg, per GPU-year","sources":[{"url":"https://spectrum.ieee.org/orbital-data-centers-heat","publisher":"IEEE Spectrum (ABI Research)","quote":"highly optimistic launch cost per kilogram of US $44"}]},{"id":"uva-30","model":"UVA NSDPI ambitious 2040 case","year":2026,"launch":30,"ratio":[0.93,0.93],"derived":true,"scope":"ex","note":"$15.4B vs $16.6B; also assumes $10/W hardware, 100 W/kg and 1% failure","sources":[{"url":"https://nationalsecurity.virginia.edu/sites/default/files/files/2026-05/00036_20260519)_nsdpi_evaluating_space-based_data_center_architectures-capabilitites,_constraints,_and_trade-offs.pdf","publisher":"University of Virginia NSDPI","quote":""}]},{"id":"scwp-30","model":"Starcloud white paper","year":2024,"launch":30,"ratio":[0.05,0.05],"derived":true,"companyClaim":true,"scope":"launch","note":"Energy, cooling and backup only: $8.2M vs $167M (company claim)","offChart":"below the chart at 0.05x","sources":[{"url":"https://starcloudinc.github.io/wp.pdf","publisher":"Starcloud white paper","quote":"this translates to approximately $30 per kilogram"}]},{"id":"uva-1","model":"UVA NSDPI, launch only","year":2026,"launch":1,"ratio":[3.5,3.5],"derived":true,"scope":"ex","note":"$58.9B vs $16.6B even at $1/kg with nothing else changed","offChart":"left of the chart at $1/kg","sources":[{"url":"https://nationalsecurity.virginia.edu/sites/default/files/files/2026-05/00036_20260519)_nsdpi_evaluating_space-based_data_center_architectures-capabilitites,_constraints,_and_trade-offs.pdf","publisher":"University of Virginia NSDPI","quote":""}]}],"noLaunch":[{"model":"Deutsche Bank, today","year":2026,"ratio":"6x, excluding compute","sources":[{"url":"https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/deutsche-bank-sees-spacex-orbital-data-centers-matching-ground-costs-93CH-4790612","publisher":"Investing.com (Deutsche Bank report)","quote":"would currently cost six times more than terrestrial alternatives excluding compute costs"}]},{"model":"IEEE Spectrum (McCalip-based)","year":2026,"ratio":"about 3.2x ($51B vs $16B for 1 GW over 5 years)","sources":[{"url":"https://spectrum.ieee.org/orbital-data-centers","publisher":"IEEE Spectrum","quote":"around US $51 billion, including launch and five years"}]},{"model":"TechCrunch run of the McCalip calculator","year":2026,"ratio":"almost 3x ($42.4B)","sources":[{"url":"https://techcrunch.com/2026/02/11/why-the-economics-of-orbital-ai-are-so-brutal/","publisher":"TechCrunch","quote":"might cost $42.4 billion ... almost 3x its ground-bound equivalent"}]},{"model":"Morgan Stanley, 2031 (secondary)","year":2026,"ratio":"0.96x ($6.5 vs $6.8 per watt-year)","sources":[{"url":"https://wccftech.com/spacexs-orbital-ai-compute-can-reach-6-5-per-watt-per-year-by-2031-which-is-cheaper-than-nvidia-blackwell-based-terrestrial-data-centers/amp/","publisher":"Wccftech (relay)","quote":"$6.5 per watt per year by 2031 vs. $6.8 per watt per year all-in"}]}],"thresholds":[{"who":"Bain","low":50,"high":100,"meaning":"for orbital economics to be competitive","sources":[{"url":"https://www.bain.com/insights/orbital-data-centers-beyond-the-grid/","publisher":"Bain","quote":"launch costs would likely need to fall closer to $50-$100 per kilogram"}]},{"who":"Forethought","low":100,"high":100,"meaning":"approximate cost parity with ground builds","sources":[{"url":"https://www.forethought.org/research/will-we-really-put-data-centers-in-space","publisher":"Forethought","quote":"ODCs could approach cost parity with terrestrial builds at around $100/kg"}]},{"who":"Google Suncatcher","low":200,"high":200,"meaning":"launched power comparable to ground power spend, by about 2035","sources":[{"url":"https://services.google.com/fh/files/misc/suncatcher_paper.pdf","publisher":"Google Research (Suncatcher paper)","quote":""}]},{"who":"Turyshev (NASA JPL)","low":250,"high":1000,"meaning":"launch plus build, to match ground capital cost","sources":[{"url":"https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.27197","publisher":"arXiv","quote":"allows only 250-1000 $/kg for the combined launch and spacecraft-build cost"}]},{"who":"Starcloud CEO (McKinsey interview, relayed by JLL)","low":500,"high":500,"meaning":"cost-competitive (company view)","sources":[{"url":"https://www.jll.com/content/dam/jllcom/en/global/documents/reports/research-reports/26-insights-data-centers-in-space.pdf","publisher":"JLL","quote":""}]}],"todayPrices":[{"who":"Bain (Falcon 9)","usdPerKg":600,"sources":[{"url":"https://www.bain.com/insights/orbital-data-centers-beyond-the-grid/","publisher":"Bain","quote":"launch costs would likely need to fall closer to $50-$100 per kilogram"}]},{"who":"BCG","usdPerKg":1500,"sources":[{"url":"https://www.bcg.com/publications/2026/space-based-data-centers-cost-outlook","publisher":"BCG","quote":""}]},{"who":"Forethought","usdPerKg":1500,"sources":[{"url":"https://www.forethought.org/research/will-we-really-put-data-centers-in-space","publisher":"Forethought","quote":""}]},{"who":"SemiAnalysis (Falcon 9)","usdPerKg":1600,"note":"1,400 to 1,800","sources":[{"url":"https://newsletter.semianalysis.com/p/to-boldly-go-the-case-for-space-datacenters","publisher":"SemiAnalysis","quote":"$8.64/hr/GPU for a space-based deployment, compared to $2.37/hr/GPU"}]},{"who":"JLL (Falcon 9)","usdPerKg":2700,"sources":[{"url":"https://www.jll.com/content/dam/jllcom/en/global/documents/reports/research-reports/26-insights-data-centers-in-space.pdf","publisher":"JLL","quote":"SpaceX's Starship programme targets $200/kg, down from current Falcon 9 costs of $2,700/kg."}]},{"who":"Turyshev (dedicated Falcon 9)","usdPerKg":3360,"sources":[{"url":"https://arxiv.org/pdf/2604.27197","publisher":"arXiv","quote":"corresponding to 3.36 x 10^3 $/kg"}]},{"who":"Google (Falcon 9 reusable)","usdPerKg":3600,"sources":[{"url":"https://services.google.com/fh/files/misc/suncatcher_paper.pdf","publisher":"Google Research (Suncatcher paper)","quote":"we use current launch price $3,600/kg, based on Falcon 9 (reusable configuration)"}]},{"who":"Orbital CEO (riding a Falcon 9 mission)","usdPerKg":7000,"sources":[{"url":"https://www.theregister.com/2026/04/15/orbital_space_datacenter_startup_economics/","publisher":"The Register","quote":"currently around $7,000, assuming you can catch a ride on one of SpaceX's Falcon 9 missions"}]}]},"valueChain":[{"layer":"Launch","insight":"SpaceX launched nearly every flown US orbital compute payload and also files for its own 1M-satellite compute constellation, buys for xAI, and sells lasers to rivals. Starcloud has said rideshare capacity is scarce after Falcon 9. China uses CAS Space Kinetica-1 and Long March 2D.","players":[{"name":"SpaceX (Falcon 9 rideshare, Transporter, Bandwagon)","role":"Launch provider and competitor","supplies":"Launched Starcloud-1 (Bandwagon-4), the Kepler tranche with Axiom's nodes, Aethero Phobos (Transporter-16), and the Suncatcher prototype, MOI-1A and Altair-1 (Transporter-18); Lonestar StarVault manifested on Bandwagon-6","status":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/01/11/3216480/0/en/kepler-successfully-launches-first-tranche-of-optical-relay-satellites.html","publisher":"GlobeNewswire","quote":"Kepler Successfully Launches First Tranche of Optical Relay Satellites"},{"url":"https://finance.yahoo.com/technology/articles/starcloud-raises-250-million-orbital-140000469.html","publisher":"Yahoo Finance","quote":"Obviously if we can't book any SpaceX launch capacity in 2029, that will be challenging for us."}]},{"name":"CAS Space (Kinetica-1)","role":"Launch provider (China)","supplies":"Kinetica-1 Y15: Chenguang-1 and two Three-Body satellites; Y18: Super Intelligent Computing-1","status":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.beijing.gov.cn/fuwu/lqfw/gggs/202607/t20260726_4788464.html","publisher":"Beijing municipal government","quote":""},{"url":"https://www.stdaily.com/web/gdxw/2026-09/22/content_586153.html","publisher":"Science and Technology Daily","quote":""}]},{"name":"CASC (Long March 2D)","role":"Launch provider (China)","supplies":"First 12 Three-Body / ADA Space computing satellites (2025-05-14)","status":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"http://www.news.cn/tech/20250514/eca3ecd7bb4142dc9a803b9c3a3b72d8/c.html","publisher":"Xinhua","quote":""}]},{"name":"ISRO (PSLV)","role":"Launch provider (India)","supplies":"TakeMe2Space MOI-TD as a hosted payload on PSLV-C60 POEM-4 (2024-12-30); MOI-1 lost on PSLV-C62 (2026-01-12)","status":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.tm2.space/missions","publisher":"TakeMe2Space","quote":""}]},{"name":"Rocket Lab","programId":"rocket-lab","role":"Launch, solar arrays, optical terminals (owns Mynaric since April 2026)","supplies":"Silicon solar arrays aimed at space data centers; says it will not operate data centers","status":"announced","sources":[{"url":"https://rocketlabcorp.com/updates/rocket-lab-introduces-advanced-silicon-solar-arrays-to-power-space-based-data-centers/","publisher":"Rocket Lab","quote":""},{"url":"https://rocketlabcorp.com/updates/rocket-lab-completes-mynaric-acquisition-adding-laser-optical-communications-to-growing-space-systems-portfolio/","publisher":"Rocket Lab","quote":""}]},{"name":"Firefly Aerospace","programId":"firefly-lunar-compute","role":"Lunar-orbit host","supplies":"Starcloud SC-1L lunar-orbit compute payload, NET 2028 (from r5)","status":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://fireflyspace.com/news/firefly-aerospace-signs-starcloud-as-commercial-customer-demonstrating-data-center-capabilities-around-the-moon/","publisher":"Firefly Aerospace","quote":""}]},{"name":"Blue Origin","programId":"blue-origin-project-sunrise","role":"Launch provider and filer (Project Sunrise, 51,600 satellites)","supplies":"No ODC launch flown","status":"adjacent","sources":[{"url":"https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/nasa-objects-to-bezos-blue-origins-51600-satellite-project-sunrise-constellation/","publisher":"DCD","quote":""}]}]},{"layer":"Satellite buses, hosts and integrators","insight":"A new class of 20 to 250 kW \"Starship-class\" buses is announced (K2 Giga, Muon Condor-Ultra, Apex Comet XL, Reflex Orbital-1) but none flies before 2028. Flown compute rides on hosts built for other missions (Kepler relays, Planet, EnduroSat, D-Orbit, Sidus).","players":[{"name":"Astro Digital","programId":"astro-digital","role":"Bus maker","supplies":"Corvus-Micro+ bus for Starcloud-1","status":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0002087446/000121390026103789/ea030673101ex99-2.htm","publisher":"US SEC (Proem Acquisition Corp. I 8-K exhibit)","quote":"the first NVIDIA H100 GPU into orbit"}]},{"name":"Apex","programId":"apex-space","role":"Bus maker","supplies":"Nova bus for Sophia Space's 2027 TILE demo","status":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sophia-space-selects-apex-to-power-realtime-computing-in-orbit-302806905.html","publisher":"PR Newswire","quote":""}]},{"name":"Reflex Aerospace (Germany)","programId":"reflex-aerospace","role":"Exclusive bus and system integrator","supplies":"Exclusive bus under a development agreement for Orbital's Orbital-1, approaching 250 kW","status":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.reflexaerospace.com/press-releases/orbital-selects-reflex-as-exclusive-satellite-platform-partner-space-data-center-constellation","publisher":"Reflex Aerospace","quote":""}]},{"name":"Muon Space","programId":"muon-space-condor-ultra","role":"Bus maker","supplies":"Condor-Ultra: 20 kW, variants to 100 kW; integrates Starlink laser terminals (25 Gbps); optional NVIDIA Space-1; pathfinder 2028; \"worked with hyperscalers\" on requirements","status":"announced","sources":[{"url":"https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/muon-space-unveils-condor-ultra-starship-class-spacecraft-platform-built-for-scale-302789276.html","publisher":"PR Newswire","quote":"First Launch Target: 2028 (pathfinder delivery)"},{"url":"https://www.satellitetoday.com/manufacturing/2026/06/03/muon-space-debuts-high-power-ultra-satellite-designed-for-orbital-data-centers/","publisher":"Via Satellite","quote":""}]},{"name":"K2 Space","programId":"k2-space","role":"Bus maker","supplies":"Gravitas (20 kW class) flew 2026-03-30 without a named compute payload; Giga (100 kW class, second half of 2028) pitched to hyperscalers; $500M Series D on 2026-07-30","status":"announced","sources":[{"url":"https://www.washingtontechnology.com/contracts/2026/07/k2-space-fetches-500m-its-move-mass-production/415145/","publisher":"Washington Technology","quote":"the foundational platform for deploying massive amounts of compute on orbit"}]},{"name":"EnduroSat","role":"Bus maker","supplies":"FRAME-15 bus for Aethero Titan (not yet launched)","status":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.endurosat.com/news/endurosat-makes-data-center-class-ai-compute-standard-on-serial-production-satellites-with-nvidia/","publisher":"EnduroSat","quote":""},{"url":"https://www.techtimes.com/articles/325393/20260824/orbital-ai-gets-energy-grid-aethero-signs-power-deal-october-titan-mission.htm","publisher":"TechTimes","quote":""}]},{"name":"Planet Labs","programId":"planet-labs","role":"Builder and operator for Google","supplies":"Built and launched the Suncatcher prototype (2026-10-01); runs Jetson inference on its own Pelicans","status":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/models-and-research/google-research/project-suncatcher-prototype/","publisher":"Google","quote":""}]},{"name":"Kepler Communications","programId":"kepler-compute","role":"Host and compute operator","supplies":"Hosts Axiom ODC nodes 1 and 2; sells Jetson Orin compute on 10 relay satellites","status":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://betakit.com/kepler-communications-sells-its-first-on-orbit-compute-power-to-axiom-space/","publisher":"BetaKit","quote":""}]},{"name":"Sidus Space","role":"Host","supplies":"Builds and flies Lonestar StarVault payloads on LizzieSat-4/5; $120M deal is preliminary","status":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sidus-space-to-launch-lizziesat-4-and-lizziesat-5-together-on-spacex-bandwagon-6-302891457.html","publisher":"PR Newswire","quote":""}]},{"name":"Loft Orbital","programId":"altair-loft-marlan","role":"Host / infrastructure-as-a-service","supplies":"$1B, 50-satellite AI program with Marlan Space (announced 2026-09-09; funded by Loft, Marlan and partners, not a firm contract); Altair-1 launched 2026-10-01","status":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://satnews.com/2026/09/13/loft-orbital-and-marlan-space-award-1-billion-contract-for-50-ai-equipped-leo-satellites/","publisher":"SatNews","quote":""}]},{"name":"D-Orbit (ION)","programId":"d-orbit-ion-compute","role":"Host","supplies":"Hosted Unibap SpaceCloud, AWS software and SkyServe edge compute since 2021","status":"edge-class","sources":[{"url":"https://www.edgeir.com/aws-d-orbit-unibap-collaborate-to-bring-edge-computing-to-space-20221201","publisher":"Edge Industry Review","quote":""}]},{"name":"Spacebilt","programId":"spacebilt","role":"Server integrator","supplies":"Built Lonestar's Freedom server (as Skycorp); building the petabyte-class Axiom ISS node (2027)","status":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.axiomspace.com/release/axiom-space-spacebilt-announce-orbital-data-center-node","publisher":"Axiom Space","quote":""}]},{"name":"Thales Alenia Space","role":"Prime / study lead","supplies":"Led EU ASCEND feasibility study","status":"adjacent","sources":[{"url":"https://www.thalesaleniaspace.com/en/press-releases/thales-alenia-space-reveals-results-ascend-feasibility-study-space-data-centers-0","publisher":"Thales Alenia Space","quote":""}]}]},{"layer":"Compute silicon and storage","insight":"NVIDIA is the default: an H100 on Starcloud-1, 40 Jetson Orins on Kepler, Space-1 partners named. NVIDIA has not published Space-1 radiation data. Google is captive (TPUs). Rad-tolerant incumbents (AMD Versal XQR, Microchip PIC64-HPSC, Ramon.Space) serve edge-class and storage roles.","players":[{"name":"NVIDIA","programId":"nvidia-space-computing","role":"GPU and module supplier; investor in Starcloud","supplies":"H100 on Starcloud-1; Jetson Orin/Thor modules for Kepler, Planet and Aethero; Space-1 Vera Rubin module, available \"at a later date\"","status":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/16/nvidia-chips-orbital-data-centers-space-ai.html","publisher":"CNBC","quote":""},{"url":"https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/starcloud-1.htm","publisher":"Gunter's Space Page","quote":"the first Nvidia H100 GPU ever deployed in space"}]},{"name":"Google (TPU)","programId":"google-project-suncatcher","role":"Captive silicon","supplies":"4 Trillium TPUs on the Suncatcher prototype (reported); radiation-tested to 15 krad(Si) with no hard failures","status":"in-house","sources":[{"url":"https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.19468","publisher":"arXiv","quote":""}]},{"name":"AMD (Xilinx Versal XQR)","role":"Rad-tolerant adaptive SoC supplier","supplies":"Versal AI Edge XQRVE2302 (Class B qualified, shipping from fall 2025); Versal AI Core XQRVC1902 sampling for 15-year missions. Uses cited: NEC optical constellation, Blue Origin flight computers. No ODC program named.","status":"adjacent","sources":[{"url":"https://www.amd.com/en/blogs/2025/available-for-order-flight-qualified-amd-versal-a.html","publisher":"AMD","quote":""},{"url":"https://www.hpcwire.com/off-the-wire/amd-outlines-role-in-enabling-edge-ai-and-hpc-for-space-exploration/","publisher":"HPCwire","quote":""}]},{"name":"Microchip (PIC64-HPSC)","role":"Rad-tolerant processor","supplies":"HPSC processor for the Axiom/Spacebilt ISS node (2027); a Microchip RISC-V processor on Lonestar Freedom","status":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.embedded.com/axiom-space-and-spacebilt-to-launch-optically-interconnected-orbital-data-center-node-on-iss-in-2027/","publisher":"Embedded","quote":""}]},{"name":"Phison","role":"Storage","supplies":"Over 1 PB of SSDs for the Axiom ISS node (2027)","status":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.tweaktown.com/news/107945/over-1-petabyte-of-phison-pascari-ssds-are-headed-to-the-international-space-station-in-2027/index.html","publisher":"TweakTown","quote":""}]},{"name":"Ramon.Space (with Ingrasys, a Foxconn subsidiary)","programId":"ramon-space","role":"Rad-hard computing","supplies":"About 50 missions of heritage; ODC platform prototypes planned 2027 and 2028","status":"announced","sources":[{"url":"https://payloadspace.com/ramon-space-ingrasys-aim-to-fly-prototype-orbital-data-center-in-2027/","publisher":"Payload","quote":""}]},{"name":"Ubotica","role":"Onboard AI (CogniSAT)","supplies":"11 flown missions, 30+ models in orbit; ESA and NASA JPL since 2020; IBM watsonx one-click deployment","status":"edge-class","sources":[{"url":"https://newsletter.terrawatchspace.com/edge-computing-for-earth-observation-2026-edition/","publisher":"TerraWatch Space","quote":""},{"url":"https://www.ibm.com/case-studies/blog/ubotica-partners-with-ibm-for-one-click-deployment-of-space-ai-applications","publisher":"IBM","quote":""}]},{"name":"Unibap","programId":"unibap-spacecloud","role":"Edge computers (SpaceCloud iX5/iX10)","supplies":"Flown on D-Orbit ION since 2021; NASA iX10 order; KSAT, Leonardo","status":"edge-class","sources":[{"url":"https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2021/10/11/2312019/0/en/Nebula-an-Innovative-In-Orbit-Cloud-Computing-and-Storage-Platform-is-Successfully-Demonstrated-in-Space.html","publisher":"GlobeNewswire","quote":""}]},{"name":"Aethero","programId":"aethero","role":"Edge computers and own satellites","supplies":"Deimos (100 TOPS), Phobos (157 TOPS) flown; Titan with four NxA-ECM (Jetson Thor) modules, \"more than 16,000 teraflops\", 3.4 kW peak, October 2026","status":"edge-class","sources":[{"url":"https://www.aethero.com/news/press-release-phobos-satellite-launch/","publisher":"Aethero","quote":"achieving up to 157 TOPS of compute power in orbit"}]},{"name":"EDGX (Belgium)","role":"Edge computer (Sterna, Jetson Orin NX)","supplies":"First in-orbit payloads 2026-04-09; EUR 1.1M deal with an unnamed operator","status":"edge-class","sources":[{"url":"https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/edgx-launches-sterna-satellite-payloads-on-spacex-transporter-16/","publisher":"DCD","quote":""}]},{"name":"KP Labs","programId":"kp-labs-leopard","role":"FPGA onboard AI (Leopard DPU)","supplies":"Intuition-1 (2023); ESA OPS-SAT VOLT","status":"edge-class","sources":[{"url":"https://www.eoportal.org/satellite-missions/intuition-1","publisher":"eoPortal","quote":""}]},{"name":"Red Hat / IBM","programId":"ibm-red-hat","role":"Software","supplies":"Device Edge on Axiom AxDCU-1 (ISS); RHEL on Voyager Space Edge (ISS)","status":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.redhat.com/en/about/press-releases/voyager-and-red-hat-propel-red-hat-enterprise-linux-orbit-space-edge-micro-datacenters","publisher":"Red Hat","quote":""}]}]},{"layer":"Optical links, networking and ground","insight":"SpaceX is now also a link supplier: Starcloud buys 50+ Starlink Mini lasers (25 Gbps) and Muon integrates them. Kepler uses Tesat SDA-standard terminals (2.5 Gbps). Google says training needs about 10 Tbps per link; flown links are 2.5 to 200 Gbps.","players":[{"name":"SpaceX Starlink lasers","role":"Inter-satellite link supplier","supplies":"50+ Starlink Mini Laser terminals across 25+ Starcloud satellites, two per satellite, up to 25 Gbps over 4,000 km; first hardware in orbit within a year","status":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260526670395/en/Starcloud-to-Integrate-SpaceXs-Starlink-Mini-Lasers-Into-Its-Orbital-Data-Center-Constellation","publisher":"Business Wire","quote":""}]},{"name":"Tesat (Airbus)","role":"Optical terminal maker","supplies":"SDA-standard terminals for Kepler's constellation, which hosts Axiom nodes and sells compute","status":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.tesat.de/news/press/926-kepler-selects-tesat-to-provide-optical-terminals-for-next-generation-constellation","publisher":"Tesat","quote":""}]},{"name":"Skyloom","role":"Optical terminal maker","supplies":"Optical Communication Terminal on Axiom/Spacebilt ISS ODC node (2027)","status":"confirmed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.axiomspace.com/release/axiom-space-spacebilt-announce-orbital-data-center-node","publisher":"Axiom Space","quote":""}]},{"name":"Space Development Agency standard","role":"Interoperability standard-setter","supplies":"Kepler fields 2.5 Gbps SDA-standard links; GA-EMS demonstrated air-to-space link with an SDA Tranche 0-compatible Kepler satellite","status":"adjacent","sources":[{"url":"https://www.ga.com/ga-and-kepler-communications-successfully-demonstrate-air-to-space-optical-communications-capability","publisher":"General Atomics","quote":""}]},{"name":"Mynaric (Rocket Lab)","role":"Optical terminal maker","supplies":"Capella SAR satellite at 2.5 Gbps; Northrop Grumman (SDA); ESA HydRON. No ODC link found.","status":"adjacent","sources":[{"url":"https://www.satellitetoday.com/technology/2026/06/25/capella-validates-mynaric-optical-terminal-on-latest-sar-satellite/","publisher":"Via Satellite","quote":""}]},{"name":"Aalyria","role":"Network orchestration (Spacetime) and optical (Tightbeam)","supplies":"$100M Series B at $1.3B (2026-02); AFRL Space Data Network Experimentation; SpinLaunch Meridian. No ODC link found.","status":"adjacent","sources":[{"url":"https://www.satellitetoday.com/finance/2026/02/23/aalyria-posts-100m-series-b-funding-round/","publisher":"Via Satellite","quote":""},{"url":"https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260122346858/en/Aalyria-Selected-by-U.S.-Air-Force-Research-Laboratory-for-Space-Data-Network-Experimentation-SDNX-Program","publisher":"Business Wire","quote":""}]},{"name":"Space Force Space Data Network","role":"Defense transport layer (moving data, not computing it)","supplies":"$12M each to Amazon Leo for Government, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Rocket Lab and York (2026-08-13)","status":"adjacent","sources":[{"url":"https://breakingdefense.com/2026/08/space-force-brings-5-companies-on-board-space-data-network/","publisher":"Breaking Defense","quote":""}]}]},{"layer":"Power: arrays and space power","insight":"Power hardware is commodity-like at small scale but unproven at the 1,000+ m2 per MW that ODCs need. Exterra flags triple-junction cell capacity as a supply risk with Golden Dome competing for it. Space-to-space power beaming (Star Catcher) has signed ODC buyers before its first demo.","players":[{"name":"Rocket Lab","programId":"rocket-lab","role":"Solar arrays","supplies":"Silicon arrays pitched for kilometre-scale data center power","status":"announced","sources":[{"url":"https://www.spaceconnectonline.com.au/satellites/6986-rocket-lab-unveils-silicon-solar-arrays-to-power-future-space-based-data-centres","publisher":"Space Connect","quote":""}]},{"name":"Redwire (ROSA)","role":"Solar arrays and deployable radiators","supplies":"Concept orbital compute node on ROSA and Redwire radiators; 65+ arrays delivered or in development; ROSA for Axiom Station module 2 (2026-10-05)","status":"announced","sources":[{"url":"https://spacenews.com/scalable-power-and-thermal-architectures-key-to-enabling-orbital-data-centers/","publisher":"SpaceNews","quote":""},{"url":"https://www.financialcontent.com/article/bizwire-2026-10-5-redwire-awarded-follow-on-contract-to-provide-roll-out-solar-array-wings-for-axiom-spaces-second-space-station-module","publisher":"Business Wire via FinancialContent","quote":""}]},{"name":"Atomic-6","programId":"atomic-6-odc-space","role":"Light Wing arrays, Hot Wing radiators, ODC.space marketplace","supplies":"Deployable arrays and radiators; resells orbital compute from $575,000 a month","status":"announced","sources":[{"url":"https://payloadspace.com/atomic-6-launches-orbital-data-center-marketplace/","publisher":"Payload","quote":""}]},{"name":"Solestial","role":"Self-healing silicon cells","supplies":"10 kW wing with DCUBED targeted for 2026; no ODC customer named","status":"adjacent","sources":[{"url":"https://dcubed.space/dcubedandsolestialdebutnewproduct/","publisher":"DCUBED","quote":""}]},{"name":"Star Catcher","role":"Space-to-space optical power beaming","supplies":"Power-beaming agreements with Starcloud, Astro Digital, Loft Orbital and Aethero; $65M Series A led by B Capital; first space-to-space beaming test still pending","status":"confirmed","note":"Contracted, technology not yet demonstrated","sources":[{"url":"https://www.techtimes.com/articles/325393/20260824/orbital-ai-gets-energy-grid-aethero-signs-power-deal-october-titan-mission.htm","publisher":"TechTimes","quote":""},{"url":"https://singularityhub.com/2026/10/01/star-catcher-is-about-to-beam-power-between-two-satellites-for-the-first-time/","publisher":"Singularity Hub","quote":""}]},{"name":"Overview Energy","role":"Space solar to ground","supplies":"Meta reserved up to 1 GW (2026-04-27); demo 2028, power 2030. Powers terrestrial data centers: an alternative to ODCs, not a supplier.","status":"adjacent","sources":[{"url":"https://about.fb.com/news/2026/04/powering-ai-strengthening-the-grid-space-solar-energy-and-long-duration-storage/","publisher":"Meta","quote":""}]}]},{"layer":"Thermal","insight":"The least mature segment and the binding constraint. Every large program builds radiators in-house (SpaceX, Starcloud, Orbital Chenguang, Sophia). BCG puts cooling at TRL 6 with 5 to 10 years to TRL 9. Exterra found no qualified off-the-shelf active thermal system for 100 kW payloads.","players":[{"name":"SpaceX","role":"In-house","supplies":"AI1 design: about 1,400 W/m2 radiator (as presented 2026-06-08)","status":"in-house","sources":[{"url":"https://www.techtimes.com/articles/318103/20260610/spacex-ai1-orbital-data-center-bets-space-power-cooling-economics-stay-unproven.htm","publisher":"TechTimes","quote":""}]},{"name":"Starcloud","programId":"starcloud","role":"In-house","supplies":"Starcloud-2 \"largest commercial deployable radiator\" (COMPANY_CLAIM)","status":"in-house","sources":[{"url":"https://finance.yahoo.com/technology/articles/starcloud-raises-250-million-orbital-140000469.html","publisher":"Yahoo Finance","quote":""}]},{"name":"Orbital Chenguang","programId":"orbital-chenguang","role":"In-house","supplies":"Graphene flexible radiative panels flown on Chenguang-1 (validation began August 2026)","status":"in-house","sources":[{"url":"https://finance.sina.com.cn/roll/2026-08-11/doc-inimwuht0845274.shtml","publisher":"Sina Finance","quote":""}]},{"name":"Sophia Space","programId":"sophia-space","role":"In-house","supplies":"TILE: passive radiator on the back of solar/compute tiles (US Patent 12,679,564)","status":"in-house","sources":[{"url":"https://www.supercomputing.news/emerging/sophia-space-orbital-data-center-patent-radiator-area","publisher":"Supercomputing.news","quote":""}]},{"name":"Atomic-6 (Hot Wing)","programId":"atomic-6-odc-space","role":"Deployable radiators","supplies":"Announced April 2026 for orbital compute","status":"announced","sources":[{"url":"https://payloadspace.com/atomic-6-launches-orbital-data-center-marketplace/","publisher":"Payload","quote":""}]},{"name":"Sierra Space","role":"Deployable radiator","supplies":"Prototype passed thermal-vacuum testing at NASA JSC","status":"adjacent","sources":[{"url":"https://www.sierraspace.com/blog/sierra-space-advances-thermal-control-technology-with-successful-tvac-testing-of-deployable-radiator-prototype/","publisher":"Sierra Space","quote":""}]},{"name":"INVENT GmbH (LiDeR)","role":"Passive deployable radiator","supplies":"Small-satellite class","status":"adjacent","sources":[{"url":"https://satsearch.co/products/invent-gmbh-deployable-radiator","publisher":"satsearch","quote":""}]}]},{"layer":"Operators and integrators","insight":"See canonical.json for stage, funding and timeline. Value-chain position summarized here.","players":[{"name":"Starcloud","programId":"starcloud","role":"Vertically integrating operator","supplies":"Own satellites and radiators; buys Astro Digital buses, NVIDIA GPUs, Starlink lasers, SpaceX launch, Star Catcher power","status":"operator","sources":[{"url":"https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/starcloud-1.htm","publisher":"Gunter's Space Page","quote":""}]},{"name":"Axiom Space","programId":"axiom-space-odc","role":"Hosted-node integrator","supplies":"Nodes on Kepler and ISS; buys Spacebilt, Microchip, Phison, Skyloom, Red Hat","status":"operator","sources":[{"url":"https://spacenews.com/axiom-space-to-launch-orbital-data-centers-on-kepler-satellites/","publisher":"SpaceNews","quote":""}]},{"name":"Kepler Communications","programId":"kepler-compute","role":"Network-first compute seller","supplies":"18 customers for compute and relay; Tesat terminals","status":"operator","sources":[{"url":"https://techcrunch.com/2026/04/13/the-largest-orbital-compute-cluster-is-open-for-business/","publisher":"TechCrunch","quote":"The company now has 18 customers"}]},{"name":"Sophia Space","programId":"sophia-space","role":"Tile architecture plus orbital OS","supplies":"Software on Kepler; hardware demo on Apex 2027","status":"operator","sources":[{"url":"https://aviationweek.com/space/commercial-space/sophia-space-test-orbital-data-center-tech-apex-sat-2027","publisher":"Aviation Week","quote":""}]},{"name":"Lonestar Data Holdings","programId":"lonestar-data-holdings","role":"Sovereign storage operator","supplies":"Payloads built by Spacebilt and Sidus; hosts on landers and LEO satellites","status":"operator","sources":[{"url":"https://lonestar.space/press-releases/starvault-the-world-s-first-commercial-data-storage-service-from-space","publisher":"Lonestar","quote":""}]},{"name":"ADA Space / Zhejiang Lab","programId":"ada-space-star-compute","role":"Constellation operator (China)","supplies":"Builds own computing satellites; launches on Long March and Kinetica","status":"operator","sources":[{"url":"http://www.news.cn/tech/20250514/eca3ecd7bb4142dc9a803b9c3a3b72d8/c.html","publisher":"Xinhua","quote":""}]},{"name":"Orbital Chenguang","programId":"orbital-chenguang","role":"State-backed operator (Beijing)","supplies":"Consortium of about 24 to 30 organizations; RMB 57.7B bank credit intent","status":"operator","sources":[{"url":"https://www.beijing.gov.cn/fuwu/lqfw/gggs/202607/t20260726_4788464.html","publisher":"Beijing municipal government","quote":""}]},{"name":"Atomic-6 ODC.space","programId":"atomic-6-odc-space","role":"Marketplace / reseller","supplies":"Brokers capacity from 1U to 42U; no named customers","status":"operator","sources":[{"url":"https://odc.space/","publisher":"ODC.space","quote":""}]}]}],"scheduleRecord":[{"programId":"starcloud","step":"First demonstrator (Starcloud-1)","promised":"May 2025","promisedWindow":["2025-05-01","2025-05-31"],"promisedOn":"2024-03-11","promisedSources":[{"url":"https://payloadspace.com/lumen-orbit-raises-2-4m-to-speed-up-downlink/","publisher":"Payload","quote":""},{"url":"https://techcrunch.com/2024/12/11/200-vcs-wanted-to-get-into-lumen-orbits-11m-seed-round","publisher":"TechCrunch","quote":""}],"outcome":"Launched 2025-11-02","deliveredOn":"2025-11-02","outcomeSources":[{"url":"https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/starcloud-1.htm","publisher":"Gunter's Space Page","quote":""}],"status":"delivered late"},{"programId":"starcloud","step":"Starcloud-2 launch","promised":"October 2026","promisedWindow":["2026-10-01","2026-10-31"],"promisedOn":"2026-03-30","promisedSources":[{"url":"https://www.networkworld.com/article/4132147/starcloud-prepares-to-launch-aws-outpost-into-space.html","publisher":"Network World","quote":""},{"url":"https://thenextweb.com/news/starcloud-170m-series","publisher":"The Next Web","quote":""}],"outcome":"Now 2027 (stated 2026-08-21)","newWindow":["2027-01-01","2027-12-31"],"outcomeSources":[{"url":"https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/21/starcloud-raises-200-million-for-orbital-data-centers-as-launch-options-dry-up/","publisher":"TechCrunch","quote":""}],"status":"moved later"},{"programId":"axiom-space-odc","step":"ISS data center prototype","promised":"2024","promisedWindow":["2024-01-01","2024-12-31"],"promisedOn":"2023-12-19","promisedSources":[{"url":"https://axiomspace.com/release/orbital-data-center","publisher":"Axiom Space","quote":""}],"outcome":"AxDCU-1 reached the ISS 2025-08-24","deliveredOn":"2025-08-24","outcomeSources":[{"url":"https://www.axiomspace.com/orbital-data-center","publisher":"Axiom Space","quote":""}],"status":"delivered late"},{"programId":"axiom-space-odc","step":"Nodes 1 and 2 on Kepler satellites","promised":"by the end of 2025","promisedWindow":["2025-12-31","2025-12-31"],"promisedOn":"2025-04-07","promisedSources":[{"url":"https://www.axiomspace.com/release/axiom-space-to-launch-orbital-data-center-nodes-to-support-national-security-commercial-international-customers","publisher":"Axiom Space","quote":""}],"outcome":"Launched 2026-01-11","deliveredOn":"2026-01-11","outcomeSources":[{"url":"https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/01/11/3216480/0/en/kepler-successfully-launches-first-tranche-of-optical-relay-satellites.html","publisher":"GlobeNewswire (Kepler)","quote":""}],"status":"delivered late","hostDriven":true},{"programId":"kepler-compute","step":"Optical relay network launch","promised":"2024 (services by Q1 2025)","promisedWindow":["2024-01-01","2024-12-31"],"promisedOn":"2023-04-13","promisedSources":[{"url":"https://www.satellitetoday.com/finance/2023/04/13/kepler-communications-raises-92-million-in-a-series-c-round/","publisher":"Via Satellite","quote":""},{"url":"https://www.sdxcentral.com/news/kepler-communications-raises-92-million-for-optical-satellite-relay-network/","publisher":"SDxCentral","quote":""}],"outcome":"Launched 2026-01-11","deliveredOn":"2026-01-11","outcomeSources":[{"url":"https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/01/11/3216480/0/en/kepler-successfully-launches-first-tranche-of-optical-relay-satellites.html","publisher":"GlobeNewswire (Kepler)","quote":""}],"status":"delivered late"},{"programId":"orbital-chenguang","step":"Chenguang-1 launch","promised":"end of 2025","promisedWindow":["2025-12-01","2025-12-31"],"promisedOn":"2025-08-15","promisedSources":[{"url":"https://file.finance.qq.com/finance/hs/pdf/2025/08/15/1224500754.PDF","publisher":"Shunhao investor relations record","quote":""},{"url":"https://www.beijing.gov.cn/ywdt/gzdt/202511/t20251129_4311303.html","publisher":"Beijing municipal government (end 2025 or early 2026)","quote":""}],"outcome":"Launched 2026-07-24 (Beijing time)","deliveredOn":"2026-07-24","outcomeSources":[{"url":"https://www.beijing.gov.cn/fuwu/lqfw/gggs/202607/t20260726_4788464.html","publisher":"Beijing municipal government","quote":""}],"status":"delivered late"},{"programId":"zhejiang-lab-three-body","step":"More than 50 computing satellites in 2025","promised":"2025","promisedWindow":["2025-01-01","2025-12-31"],"promisedOn":"2025-05-21","promisedSources":[{"url":"https://www.cls.cn/detail/2037179","publisher":"Cailian Press","quote":""}],"outcome":"None more in 2025; 14 constellation satellites by October 2026","outcomeSources":[{"url":"https://www.huxiu.com/moment/1216531.html","publisher":"Huxiu","quote":""},{"url":"https://www.stdaily.com/web/gdxw/2026-07/24/content_552976.html","publisher":"Science and Technology Daily","quote":""}],"status":"missed"},{"programId":"cowboy-space","step":"First demonstration spacecraft","promised":"Q4 2025 or Q1 2026","promisedWindow":["2025-10-01","2026-03-31"],"promisedOn":"2024-10-09","promisedSources":[{"url":"https://techcrunch.com/2024/10/09/billionaire-robinhood-co-founder-launches-aetherflux-a-space-based-solar-power-startup/","publisher":"TechCrunch","quote":""}],"outcome":"Reason-1 launched 2026-10-01 (power beaming, not compute)","deliveredOn":"2026-10-01","outcomeSources":[{"url":"https://payloadspace.com/transporter-18-tests-the-building-blocks-of-orbital-data-centers/","publisher":"Payload","quote":""}],"status":"delivered late"},{"programId":"lonestar-data-holdings","step":"Lunar data center payload on IM-2","promised":"October 2023","promisedWindow":["2023-10-01","2023-10-31"],"promisedOn":"2023-03-07","promisedSources":[{"url":"https://www.theregister.com/2023/03/07/lonestar_secures_funding_for_lunar/","publisher":"The Register","quote":""}],"outcome":"Launched 2025-02-26 (local time)","deliveredOn":"2025-02-26","outcomeSources":[{"url":"https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lunar-data-center-achieves-first-success-en-route-to-the-moon-302392544.html","publisher":"PR Newswire (Lonestar)","quote":""}],"status":"delivered late","hostDriven":true},{"programId":"lonestar-data-holdings","step":"First StarVault payload","promised":"October 2026","promisedWindow":["2026-10-01","2026-10-31"],"promisedOn":"2026-04-15","promisedSources":[{"url":"https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lonestar-announces-starvault-the-worlds-first-commercial-space-based-data-storage-service-and-expansion-of-its-orbital-data-center-with-sidus-space-302742619.html","publisher":"Lonestar","quote":""}],"outcome":"Now no earlier than April 2027 (stated 2026-09-28)","newWindow":["2027-04-01",null],"outcomeSources":[{"url":"https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sidus-space-to-launch-lizziesat-4-and-lizziesat-5-together-on-spacex-bandwagon-6-302891457.html","publisher":"Sidus Space","quote":""}],"status":"moved later","hostDriven":true},{"programId":"ada-space-star-compute","step":"Groups 02 and 03 deployed","promised":"2026","promisedWindow":["2026-01-01","2026-12-31"],"promisedOn":"2026-04-24","promisedSources":[{"url":"https://news.chengdu.cn/2026/0424/69eab2238f007a160c613748.shtml","publisher":"Red Star News","quote":""}],"outcome":"Group 02 batch sent off 2026-09-01, not launched by 2026-10-05","outcomeSources":[{"url":"https://news.qq.com/rain/a/20260917A0B88Y00","publisher":"Tencent News","quote":""}],"status":"pending"},{"programId":"kepler-compute","step":"Next satellite tranche","promised":"every two years","promisedOn":"2026-02-09","promisedSources":[{"url":"https://satnews.com/2026/02/09/63641/","publisher":"SatNews","quote":""}],"outcome":"Now 2028 (stated 2026-08-24)","outcomeSources":[{"url":"https://kepler.space/kepler-delivers-optical-infrastructure-for-real-time-space-operations/","publisher":"Kepler","quote":""}],"status":"narrowed"},{"programId":"sophia-space","step":"TILE in-orbit demo","promised":"late 2027 or early 2028","promisedOn":"2026-02-26","promisedSources":[{"url":"https://techcrunch.com/2026/02/26/sophia-space-raises-10m-seed-to-demo-novel-space-computers/","publisher":"TechCrunch","quote":""}],"outcome":"Now 2027 (stated 2026-06-23)","outcomeSources":[{"url":"https://aviationweek.com/space/commercial-space/sophia-space-test-orbital-data-center-tech-apex-sat-2027","publisher":"Aviation Week","quote":""}],"status":"narrowed"},{"programId":"google-project-suncatcher","step":"Two-satellite mission","promised":"by early 2027","promisedOn":"2025-11-04","promisedSources":[{"url":"https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/technology/research/google-project-suncatcher/","publisher":"Google","quote":""}],"outcome":"Now stated as 2027; a single extra prototype flew 2026-10-01","outcomeSources":[{"url":"https://techblog.comsoc.org/2026/09/26/googles-project-suncatcher-satellite-orbit-validation-of-ai-accelerator-compute-and-thermal-management/","publisher":"IEEE ComSoc (citing the New York Times)","quote":""},{"url":"https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/models-and-research/google-research/project-suncatcher-prototype/","publisher":"Google","quote":""}],"status":"wording softened"}],"forecastRanges":[{"analyst":"BIS Research","kind":"vendor","startYear":2029,"startUsdB":1.77,"endYear":2035,"endUsdB":39.09,"note":"In-orbit data center market"},{"analyst":"DC Market Insights","kind":"vendor","startYear":2025,"startUsdB":0.47145,"endYear":2035,"endUsdB":26.23,"note":"In-orbit data center market"},{"analyst":"Globe Market Research","kind":"vendor","startYear":2026,"startUsdB":1.9,"endYear":2035,"endUsdB":8.4,"note":"In-orbit data center market"},{"analyst":"BCG","kind":"analyst","startYear":2040,"startUsdB":240,"endYear":2040,"endUsdB":320,"note":"10 to 15% of the AI data center market by 2040, a year"}]}}