T-Minus Space Daily (N2K Networks) – “What’s the future of orbital data centers?”
Date: February 16, 2026
Host: Parker Wyschek (Aerospace Corporation)
Guests:

• Jason Aspiodis (Global Director of Inspace Data and Security, Axiom Space)
• Dr. Leon Alkali (Founder/CTO, Sofia Space; CEO, Mandala Space Ventures)
• Lori Gordon (Space Enterprise Evolution Team, Aerospace Corporation)

Episode Overview

This episode delves into the rapidly emerging field of Orbital Data Centers (ODCs)—computing platforms deployed in orbit to support data processing, storage, and analytics directly in space. The discussion explores why ODCs are drawing so much attention, the real-world progress and technical challenges, actual deployments, primary use cases, and the socio-economic and geopolitical factors influencing their development. With experts from leading organizations, the conversation demystifies the current status and future potential of ODCs and includes formation stories of industry working groups aimed at standardizing and advancing the field.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Defining Orbital Data Centers: Hype or Inevitable Trend?

[01:17–02:22, 09:40–11:25]

• ODCs, also called “AI satellites,” are designed to process, store, and make sense of the increasing volumes of space-generated data.
• While ODCs may seem like a new topic, both Axiom Space and Sofia Space have been working on relevant technologies for over five years.
• Initial use cases focus on “in space operations” rather than supporting terrestrial AI demand.
• The consensus among experts is ODCs are not a fleeting trend:
  • “This is not hype. I mean you go back to the beginnings of Satcom which goes back decades, people used to say that's hype. But now… Satcom is a multi double digit billion dollar industry… There’s a real need with a real market potential.” – Jason Aspiodis [09:52]
  • “This is more of an inevitability… just a natural evolution of humanity… more and more industries will be going from Earth into space.” – Leon Alkali [11:30]

2. Recent Deployments and Technical Progress

[02:22–04:23, 04:50–07:36]

• Axiom Space
  • Has focused on maturing both compute hardware and in-space AI/software through experiments on the ISS.
  • Launched two ODC prototype nodes with Kepler Communications in January 2026, now running commercial and government workloads.
  • Key milestone: Demonstrating commercial cloud computing in space, supporting “national security, civil, and commercial users.” [02:22]
• Sofia Space
  • Originates from joint work with JPL, Caltech, and Mandala Space Ventures.
  • Approach: Developing technologies “strictly applicable to space” rather than adapting terrestrial data center designs, with emphasis on:
    • Large deployable structures for solar power collection [free energy from the sun] and deep-space thermal cooling [solving key terrestrial DC problems].
    • Exclusive IP development in partnership with Caltech, focused on scalability and thermal management.

“We decided to take a technology route... designing for space. How do you get large energies in and how do you cool the thing down?” – Leon Alkali [04:50]

3. Key Use Cases for ODCs

[08:18–09:40]

• Real-time, on-orbit data processing for diverse applications:
  • Earth observation (remote sensing, weather, climate)
  • AI/ML inference at the edge
  • ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance)
  • Disaster response (e.g., rapid analysis of imagery/data)
  • Lunar and Mars communications and data processing

“Space is the limit... on-orbit data processing, when you think about Earth observation, AI, ML, inferencing, compression, ISR, weather, climate, disaster response, there’s also Lunar Mars comms...” – Lori Gordon [08:18]

4. Transition from Hype to Real Infrastructure

[13:44–15:49]

• ODCs will evolve similarly to the internet, starting with incremental adoption and expanding through practical deployments:
  • Early deployments will be small-scale, focused on edge computing.
  • Over time, a distributed mesh approach (many small ODCs rather than massive, singular hubs) is likely to dominate.
• Factors driving the shift:
  • Exponential data growth in space, lower launch costs, better upmass options.
  • Resilience and lower latency for in-space scenarios vs. Earth-based data transmission.

“We’re not giving up. This is a long term field and long term direction... taking small steps first and then building and building larger, larger systems.” – Leon Alkali [14:17]

5. Industry Collaboration & Community Building

[15:49–18:48]

• An informal ODC working group was formed among industry leaders at the Ground Systems Architecture Workshop.
• The group expanded to include a wide range of stakeholders: Leo Cloud, Star Cloud, SpaceBuilt, AWS, Lone Star, and others.
• Goal: Foster open technical information exchange, accelerate technology maturation, and build a cross-sector ODC community.

“That is how true maturation happens… when you are leaning on your peers and understanding their technology… it just takes community building to build this whole industry.” – Lori Gordon & Leon Alkali [17:08, 17:57]

6. Technical and “Techno-Economic” Challenges

[21:40–25:19]

• “Techno-Economic” Framing (Jason):
  • The essential tech pieces have been demonstrated at some level (large infrastructure, solar, radiators, radiation protection).
  • The major challenge: Achieving scale economically, not technical possibility.
    • “I like to talk about them in terms of... techno economic challenges... The remaining challenge is not whether it will work, it’s whether you can scale it economically.” [21:40]
• Thermal Management as the “Allowed Miracle” (Leon):
  • JPL wisdom: Projects are allowed “one miracle”; for ODCs, it’s scalable thermal management.
• Optical Communications
  • ODC prototypes are including optical comms for node interconnectivity (planned and built into recent deployments).
• Other Challenges (Lori):
  • Radiation-hardened processors, cybersecurity for on-orbit assets, software orchestration across domains, interoperability/standard interfaces.

7. Security & Resilience (Cyber & Physical)

[25:54–30:05]

• ODCs might look like “juicy targets” in a competitive environment, but a distributed, federated mesh reduces concentration risk.
• Being in space can actually mitigate some attack vectors present on Earth (e.g., human insider threats).
• Necessity for robust cybersecurity measures: physical, optical, and network-based protections are being developed alongside ODC architectures.

“We’re not building one giant target; we’re building a distributed federated network... split in thousands or tens of thousands... nodes.” – Jason Aspiodis [27:47]
“Being remote, being in space actually is part of security. It increases security... certain things are far better in space than they are on earth from a cybersecurity point of view.” – Leon Alkali [28:21]

8. Policy, Contracting & Geopolitical Factors

[30:05–34:06]

• Unresolved issues: Licensing, export control, data sovereignty, dual use, multi-tenancy, international participation, procurement models.
• Regulatory evolution must accompany tech evolution, not lag behind.
• Rise of “sovereign systems”: growing tendency for states to want their own ODCs, echoing trends in satellite constellations.
• Leverage terrestrial models for contracting (e.g., cloud service agreements, power purchase agreements).

“You gotta do technology and policy at the same time.” – Lori Gordon [30:23]

9. The Road Ahead & Calls to Action

[34:06–37:11]

• Jason: Shift the conversation from “why” ODCs are needed to “how” to integrate them into operations.
  • “Just eager to have a little more conversations that are focused less on the why do we need them and more about how do we use them.” [34:23]
• Leon: Advocates for U.S. government leadership in adoption and procurement, paralleling DARPA’s historic role in tech development.
• Lori: Stresses need for open standards, operational demos, treating ODCs as shared infrastructure, and broad engagement in the ODC group.

“Open standards are critical here... treat honor[able] COMPUTE as shared infrastructure, not just like experimental payloads... Would love everyone to join our Orbital Data center group... we meet about every other month.” – Lori Gordon [36:13]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “This is not hype... there's a real need with a real market potential.”
  – Jason Aspiodis [09:52]

• “This is just not even a question whether it's going to happen... just a natural evolution of humanity.”
  – Leon Alkali [11:30]

• “We decided to take a technology route... not taking Earth technology and putting it in space, but designing for space.”
  – Leon Alkali [04:50]

• “The remaining challenge is not whether it will work, it’s whether you can scale it economically.”
  – Jason Aspiodis [21:40]

• “We're not building one giant target, we're building a distributed federated network.”
  – Jason Aspiodis [27:47]

• “Being remote, being in space... increases security.”
  – Leon Alkali [28:21]

• “You gotta do technology and policy at the same time.”
  – Lori Gordon [30:23]

• “Just eager to have more conversations... more about how do we use them.”
  – Jason Aspiodis [34:23]

Timestamps for Critical Segments

• ODC Landscape and Use Cases: 01:17–11:25
• Technical Foundations and Recent Deployments: 02:22–07:36
• Industry Collaboration & Working Group Origin: 15:49–18:48
• Technical Challenges: 21:40–25:19
• Security, Resilience, and Distribution: 25:54–30:05
• Policy, Contracting, and Geopolitics: 30:05–34:06
• Visions for Next Steps: 34:06–37:11

Conclusion

This in-depth roundtable brings the ODC discussion down to earth: orbital data centers are no longer speculative fiction but are being developed, deployed, and embedded in critical infrastructure today. While challenges remain—scalability, thermal management, interoperability, and evolving policies—the momentum is toward distributed, resilient, community-driven architectures. The invitation is open: the ODC working group is actively seeking broad engagement to shape the future fabric of space’s digital economy.