Huida GPU will go to space! U.S. New Ventures builds data center rocket targeting US military market

Cowboy Space, a new American aerospace company, has launched a new rocket. It plans to leave the upper stage of the rocket in orbit and directly serve as a space data center, and is equipped with NVIDIA Vera Rubin architecture GPU. This medium-sized launch vehicle called "Big Iron" is expected to make its first flight in 2028, and the company also hopes to enter the US national security space launch market.

American media "Axios" reported on the 27th that Big Iron is about 86 meters long, which is taller than SpaceX's Falcon 9. Cowboy Space Chief Operating Officer Joseph Yaffe said the company aims to complete the manufacturing of its first rocket by the end of 2027.

What is special about this rocket is the purpose of the upper stage. According to the design announced by the company, the upper stage is equipped with a deployable radiator, which will remain in space after entering orbit and operate as a megawatt-level data center, rather than just responsible for sending payloads into orbit. The company plans to configure 5 computing racks, using Huida Vera Rubin architecture GPU.

Big Iron's reusable booster is expected to use nine liquid oxygen and methane engines called "Clydesdale". The company also plans to allow the upper stage to replace the payload module according to mission needs. In addition to the data center, it can also be changed to provide megawatt-level power or be used to deploy satellites.

Baiju Bhatt, CEO and founder of Cowboy Space, said that the company originally hoped to build a data center in space, but later found that there were not enough rockets to send relevant facilities into orbit, so it decided to develop its own launch vehicle. Big Iron will also support the company's satellite constellation project called "Stampede", with a scale target of 20,000 satellites.

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The military market is another development direction. Yafei told "Axios" that the company has begun negotiations with relevant parties, hoping to win the US National Security Space Launch (NSSL) business. This program is responsible for purchasing launch services to send U.S. national security-related payloads into space, and Cowboy Space is still in the stage of pursuing opportunities.

"Axios" pointed out that SpaceX reportedly plans to gradually retire Falcon 9, which may change the supply situation in the medium-sized launch vehicle market. However, the U.S. Space Force is still continuing to purchase Falcon 9 launch missions, and NSSL also has multiple suppliers participating in the competition. Whether Cowboy Space can allow Big Iron to enter this market still depends on the progress of rocket development and subsequent qualification and contract procedures.