# NVIDIA Space Computing: orbital data center program

> United States (United States), supplier. Stage 4 of 7: Payload demo flown. An NVIDIA H100 flew on Starcloud-1 on 2025-11-02; NVIDIA itself operates no satellites.

- Canonical page: https://spacenexus.us/orbital-data-centers/nvidia-space-computing
- This Markdown version: https://spacenexus.us/orbital-data-centers/nvidia-space-computing.md
- Data as of: 2026-10-05 (last evidence review)
- How the numbers are made: https://spacenexus.us/orbital-data-centers#method

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## Stage evidence

- An NVIDIA H100 flew on Starcloud-1 on 2025-11-02; NVIDIA itself operates no satellites. Sources: [Gunter's Space Page](https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/starcloud-1.htm)

## Key figures

- Space-1 Rubin GPU vs H100, space-based inferencing: up to 25x ratio (company claim). Sources: [NVIDIA](https://nvidianews.nvidia.com/news/space-computing); [SiliconANGLE](https://siliconangle.com/2026/03/16/nvidia-previews-vera-rubin-space-1-module-orbital-data-centers/)

## Approach

- Orbit: Via partners
- Architecture: Supplier of space-targeted compute; Space-1 Vera Rubin Module announced for orbital data centers
- Power: Not applicable
- Cooling: Huang: radiation only, "giant radiators"
- Compute: Space-1 Vera Rubin Module (claimed up to 25x H100); IGX Thor, Jetson Orin, RTX PRO 6000 available
- Customers: Partners in NVIDIA release: Aetherflux, Axiom Space, Kepler, Planet, Sophia Space, Starcloud

## Milestones

| Date | Status | Confidence | Milestone | Sources |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2025-11-02 | achieved | Confirmed | H100 flown on Starcloud-1. First data-center-class GPU in orbit. | [Gunter's Space Page](https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/starcloud-1.htm) |
| 2026-03-16 | achieved | Confirmed | NVIDIA Space Computing launched at GTC; Space-1 Vera Rubin Module announced. Designed for at least 5 years and 8,000 thermal cycles in SSO (reported). Radiation tolerance not published. | [NVIDIA](https://nvidianews.nvidia.com/news/space-computing); [NVIDIA](https://investor.nvidia.com/news/press-release-details/2026/NVIDIA-Launches-Space-Computing-Rocketing-AI-Into-Orbit/default.aspx) |
| 2026-08-21 | achieved | Reported | Joins Starcloud's Series A extension. TechCrunch, citing a person familiar with the deal, reported the size of NVIDIA's share; neither company disclosed it. | [TechCrunch](https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/21/starcloud-raises-200-million-for-orbital-data-centers-as-launch-options-dry-up/) |

## Announced next steps (as the organisation stated them)

- "at a later date" (NVIDIA): Space-1 Vera Rubin Module availability. Sources: [NVIDIA](https://nvidianews.nvidia.com/news/space-computing)

## What to watch (SpaceNexus note, not a prediction)

A ship date and radiation data for the Space-1 module.

## Cautions

- NVIDIA says "at a later date"; SiliconANGLE reported 2027 and Starcloud expects about late 2028. Use NVIDIA's wording.
- CNBC's partner list adds Firefly, Muon Space and Vast and names Cowboy Space; NVIDIA's release lists Planet. Attribute each list to its source.
- Huang said in February 2026 that heat makes the economics poor today.

## People

- Jensen Huang (CEO)

## Sources

- [Gunter's Space Page](https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/starcloud-1.htm)
- [NVIDIA](https://nvidianews.nvidia.com/news/space-computing)
- [SiliconANGLE](https://siliconangle.com/2026/03/16/nvidia-previews-vera-rubin-space-1-module-orbital-data-centers/)
- [NVIDIA](https://investor.nvidia.com/news/press-release-details/2026/NVIDIA-Launches-Space-Computing-Rocketing-AI-Into-Orbit/default.aspx)
- [TechCrunch](https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/21/starcloud-raises-200-million-for-orbital-data-centers-as-launch-options-dry-up/)

## Licence and credits

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