Cowboy Space, formerly known as Aetherflux, has unveiled the design for its Big Iron rocket. The startup, founded two years ago, aims to develop a partially reusable two-stage launch vehicle standing approximately 86 meters tall. The rocket will feature nine Clydesdale engines powered by liquid methane and liquid oxygen, with a target payload capacity exceeding 15 tons for sun-synchronous orbit.
The company plans to complete the first Big Iron prototype by the end of 2027, with an inaugural launch scheduled for 2028. CEO Baiju Bhatt stated that the firm has initiated discussions regarding the potential replacement of SpaceX Falcon 9 launch services. The project is intended to support the deployment of the Stampede constellation, which involves placing 20,000 orbital data centers into space.
The upper stage of the Big Iron rocket is designed to function as an autonomous server node. Each unit will house five racks equipped with Nvidia Vera Rubin accelerators, creating a megawatt-class computing facility. The design incorporates deployable radiators for thermal management and structural support for solar arrays, which could potentially be used for space-based power transmission.
Cowboy Space has already launched the Reason-1 experimental satellite to test laser-based energy transmission. A second mission, Reason-2, is planned for 2027 to evaluate the performance of graphics processors in space for commercial and government applications. The company has submitted filings to the FCC regarding both its server constellation and energy transmission objectives.
