Oct 27, 2026 · 60 min
Cowboy Space bets on orbital data centers
The Space Technology That Could Change History Forever
The proposal could shift some computing demand away from water- and energy-intensive terrestrial infrastructure, but only if an ambitious launch and manufacturing system works at scale.
- 1Cowboy Space is designing orbital data centers powered by near-continuous sunlight and cooled by radiating heat into space.
- 2Its Big Iron platform turns a rocket’s upper stage into the operating satellite, combining launch hardware, power generation, laser links, and computing.
- 3The company’s 2028 launch target depends on reusable rockets, new production capacity, and eventually coordinating a 20,000-satellite constellation.
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Baiju Bhatt unveils Big Iron, a satellite whose rocket upper stage becomes the operating platform rather than merely delivering a separate payload.
The brief
Baiju Bhatt explains why Cowboy Space moved from space-based solar power toward orbital data centers, arguing that computing demand is colliding with terrestrial energy and water constraints.
The proposed constellation would use sun-synchronous orbits, continuous solar illumination, and radiative cooling to reduce dependence on Earth’s power grids and water systems.
Big Iron is the central hardware reveal: its upper rocket stage becomes the operational satellite, carrying power generation, laser links, and substantially more compute capacity.
Cowboy Space is also developing its own launch vehicle, including the Clydesdale engine architecture and a reusable booster, because launch economics determine whether orbital compute can compete.
The 2028 target is only the first test; the harder challenge is building a 260,000-square-foot production operation and scaling reliably toward 20,000 satellites.
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