Hardware Podcasts

Computing in the Cosmos: Sophia Space's Mission to Move Data Centers Into Orbit

Over the Air · 24 Jul 2025 · 22m

What this episode covers

Rob DeMillo, CEO of Sophia Space, explains the company's mission to deploy orbital data centers, starting with modular 'tiles' for edge computing before scaling to full 'string of pearls' configurations. He details the thermal engineering of these one-meter compute units, which leverage the 4 Kelvin vacuum of space for efficient heat dissipation without moving parts. DeMillo also discusses the operational challenges of self-managed hardware in orbit, the current state of space debris, and his predictions for commercial space activity, including asteroid mining and robotic Mars exploration.

Most relevant to

early-stage companies

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Sophia Space, Mandela Space Ventures
Products
Starlink, Hubble
Also
JPL, Skylab

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