Atomic-6, a metro Atlanta space systems manufacturer, just launched ODC.space, a new marketplace where AI developers, software providers, and government agencies can secure orbital data center capacity on demand. The pitch: move the power-hungry, land-hungry data center industry off Earth and into orbit.
"When the topic of data centers comes up, the first two things that everyone talks about is power and thermal management," founder and CEO Trevor Smith told Hypepotamus. On Earth, that means enormous energy draws from the grid and nearby cooling infrastructure. In space, solar power is abundant and the vacuum of space provides natural cooling.
The company's advisory board includes astronaut Colonel Chris Hadfield, who called the move a response to "big iron bottlenecks" in terrestrial AI infrastructure: transformers, turbines, transmission upgrades, and permitting. The marketplace model lets customers reserve capacity without building their own facilities, which Atomic-6 hopes will accelerate adoption.
