Data centers need a way to release the heat generated by their computers. On Earth, facilities transfer heat to air or water. In orbit, where there is no atmosphere to carry heat away, spacecraft must ultimately release it through thermal radiation, a major challenge for operating high-performance computing systems in space.
A newly issued U.S. patent jointly owned by Caltech and Pasadena-based startup Sophia Space describes one approach. The architecture packages computing and data storage into modular units called TILEs, short for Thermal Integrated LEO Edge. Solar cells provide power, while radiator panels release waste heat into deep space.
Each TILE is designed to manage its own power and heat. Fiber-optic links carry data between units without shared electrical or thermal connections. This modular architecture would allow a system to expand by adding TILEs rather than rebuilding a centralized system. Information could be processed in orbit before selected data is transmitted to Earth.
The work comes out of Caltech’s Space-Based Solar Power Project, the same effort that transmitted power wirelessly from orbit in 2023. It reached the patent stage through a JPL research program, managed by Caltech, that funds high-risk concepts outside the Lab’s active missions. Seven inventors are named, including Sergio Pellegrino, the Joyce and Kent Kresa Professor of Aerospace and Civil Engineering and co-director of the project.
The motivation behind the idea is earthbound. A Gallup survey released in May found that 71 percent of Americans oppose constructing an AI data center in their local area. Respondents cited concerns about environmental effects, the use of water and energy, quality of life, and potential economic costs.
Sophia Space plans to conduct an on-orbit technology demonstration aboard an Apex Nova satellite bus in 2027. The company also plans to test a constellation of four to six satellites in 2029–30 before pursuing larger-scale systems in the early 2030s.