There aren't enough rockets for space data centers. Cowboy Space raised $275 million to build them. | TechCrunch

"The apparently insatiable demand for AI compute has data center entreprenuers looking to the stars. There's a key problem: There aren't enough rockets to put data centers in orbit around the Earth, and they're too expensive. Most of the players are hoping that SpaceX's Starship - expected to make its twelfth test flight as soon as this weekend- will solve the problem. But once the vehicle is operational it may be years before it is commercially available, given SpaceX's internal satellite business."

"That leaves space data center schemes either targeting the mid 2030s, like Google Suncatcher, or preparing to start off doing edge processing tasks for space sensors, like Starcloud. In theory, there's a third way: "We're standing up our own rocket program," Baiju Bhatt, the CEO and founder of Cowboy Space Corporation, told TechCrunch. He expects the first launch before the end of 2028."

"Today, the company announced the closure of a $275 million Series B round at a post-money valuation of $2 billion, led by Index Ventures, as a downpayment on that work. Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Construct Capital, IVP, and SAIC also participated. Bhatt, a co-founder of online stock platform Robinhood, launched this startup in 2024 as Aetherflux, with plans to collect abundant solar energy in space and beam it down to Earth."

"Bhatt said he spoke to multiple launch providers to try and find a path where his company would only build satellites, but he couldn't find enough launch capacity to truly scale an orbital data center business, or do so in a way where the unit economics could compete with terrestrial alternatives. "There's a lot"

Demand for AI compute is driving interest in space-based data centers, but launching them into orbit is constrained by limited rocket availability and high costs. Many efforts depend on future launch vehicles, such as SpaceX’s Starship and Blue Origin’s New Glenn, yet commercial availability may take years. As a result, some projects target later deployment dates or focus on edge processing for space sensors. Cowboy Space Corporation proposes a different approach by building its own rocket program, aiming for a first launch before the end of 2028. The company closed a $275 million Series B round at a $2 billion post-money valuation to fund this work, after pivoting from solar energy collection to orbital electricity use and then to rocket development.

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