Cowboy Space unveils Big Iron rocket to launch 20,000 AI data center satellites
Cowboy Space, a California-based company founded in 2024 by Robinhood co-founder Baiju Bhatt, announced its plan to deploy 20,000 AI data center satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO). The project, called Stampede, relies on a reusable rocket named Big Iron, which doubles as the satellite itself after launch. Big Iron will stand 282 feet tall, weigh 33,000 pounds, and carry five GPU racks per…
Key points
- Cowboy Space plans to launch **20,000 AI data center satellites** in LEO by 2028, each with **1 MW of compute power**
- Big Iron rocket is **282 feet tall**, reusable, and uses **methalox engines** like SpaceX’s Starship
- First launch slated for **December 2028**, with commercial payloads offered via **Big Iron Express**
The rocket uses Clydesdale engines (nine in the first stage, one in the upper stage) powered by liquid oxygen and methane. Cowboy Space aims to launch multiple times per day from future launch sites called Trailheads, with the first Big Iron flight targeted for December 2028. The company also plans to offer commercial launches via Big Iron Express. Currently, Cowboy Space is testing its Reason-1 satellite, which demonstrates laser-based power beaming from orbit to Earth—a critical technology for space-based data centers.
Cowboy Space unveils 'Big Iron' rocket to launch 20,000 AI data centers
space.com · 28 October 2026
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