There aren’t enough rockets for space data centers — Cowboy Space raised $275M to build them

Source: TechCrunch

The launch‑capacity problem

Most players are banking on SpaceX’s Starship, slated for its 12th test flight as early as this weekend, to solve the issue. Even if Starship becomes operational, commercial availability could be years away because of SpaceX’s internal satellite business. Blue Origin faces a similar hurdle; its New Glenn rocket failed to deliver a satellite during its third launch in April, and the vehicle is not yet ready for regular payload flights.

These constraints push space‑data‑center projects into two timelines:

• Mid‑2030s – initiatives like Google’s Suncatcher that plan to wait for more launch capacity.
• Near‑term edge processing – schemes such as Starcloud that will start by processing data from space‑based sensors.

Cowboy Space’s alternative: building its own rocket

Baiju Bhatt, CEO and founder of Cowboy Space Corporation, told TechCrunch, “We’re standing up our own rocket program.” The company aims for its first launch before the end of 2028.

Funding round

Cowboy Space announced a $275 million Series B round at a post‑money valuation of $2 billion. The round was led by earlier backer Index Ventures, with participation from Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Construct Capital, IVP, and SAIC. The company had previously raised $80 million from investors including Index, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, and New Enterprise Associates.

From Aetherflux to Cowboy Space

Bhatt, a co‑founder of Robinhood, launched the startup in 2024 as Aetherflux, originally focused on harvesting solar energy in space and beaming it to Earth. The concept of orbital data centers soon redirected the company’s focus toward using that electricity while in orbit. Practical challenges—outlined in a TechCrunch analysis of orbital AI economics—prompted the pivot to an in‑house rocket program and a rebrand to Cowboy Space.

Why launch‑in‑house?

Bhatt explained that talks with multiple launch providers failed to uncover sufficient capacity to scale an orbital data‑center business competitively against terrestrial alternatives:

“There’s a lot of new rockets that are coming online, but as we look three, four years out, it’s still very, very scarce, and I think that you’re going to see a lot of the first‑party rocket providers actually specialize into their own payloads.”

Only a handful of Western companies—SpaceX, Rocket Lab, and Arianespace—regularly launch commercial rockets. Blue Origin and United Launch Alliance have struggled with development delays, while startups such as Stoke Space, Firefly Aerospace, and Relativity Space are still awaiting operational systems.

Technical approach

Rocket design

Cowboy Space plans to integrate its data centers directly into the second stage of its launch vehicle—a throwback to early U.S. satellites like Explorer 1, which were built as final rocket stages. This purpose‑built design should simplify integration and reduce mass.

• Payload mass: 20,000–25,000 kg per satellite
• Power generation: 1 MW, supporting just under 800 onboard GPUs
• Comparative thrust: Slightly more powerful than SpaceX’s Falcon 9, but smaller than the still‑in‑development Starship
• Reusability: The booster is intended to be reusable in later iterations

Team and development

Cowboy Space has recruited veterans from the space sector, including:

• Warren Lamont – former Blue Origin propulsion engineer
• Tyler Grinnell – former SpaceX launch director

The company also intends to develop its own rocket engine—the most complex and costly component of any launch vehicle—and is establishing facilities for testing, manufacturing, and launch operations.

Market outlook

Bhatt believes the market size is large enough to accommodate multiple players:

“The prize here, and the size of this market, is big enough that there’s room for many players to succeed. I see the demand for AI getting more and more acute, and I see the options on Earth getting more and more limited.”

By focusing exclusively on orbital data centers and adopting a unique design that embeds the payload within the launch vehicle’s second stage, Cowboy Space aims to carve out a niche distinct from established launch providers like SpaceX and Blue Origin.