Orbital Data Centers (ODC)
Overview
Space-based cloud computing nodes providing secure data storage, processing, and AI/ML directly to satellites and spacecraft on orbit, independent of ground infrastructure. The first two nodes launched January 11, 2026 aboard Kepler Communications' optical relay constellation, with 2.5 Gbps SDA-compatible optical links, options for additional Kepler payloads, and a roadmap from kilowatts toward megawatts of on-orbit compute. A third node (AxODC Node ISS), developed with Spacebilt and supported by Skyloom, Phison, and Microchip, is planned aboard the ISS itself in 2027, and Axiom is evaluating a role for the network in the Pentagon's proposed Golden Dome missile-defense architecture.
ODC Nodes 1 and 2 launched January 11, 2026 on Kepler's first tranche of ten optical relay satellites (SpaceX Falcon 9 from Vandenberg); a third node planned aboard the ISS with Spacebilt in 2027