Atomic-6 unveils online marketplace for orbital data centers

COLORADO SPRINGS — Atomic-6, a supplier of specialized materials and subsystems for satellites, is launching an online marketplace designed to simplify how companies procure spacecraft for in-space computing, the company said.

The platform, called ODC.space, allows customers to order a complete satellite capable of processing data in orbit.

The offering targets artificial intelligence developers, software providers and government agencies seeking access to orbital data center capacity, Atomic-6 founder and chief executive Trevor Smith said in an interview.

“You can spec, price and order data center capacity, avoiding the cost and complexity of designing, building and operating your own satellite program,” he said. Customers can either purchase a dedicated satellite or rent computing capacity hosted on shared systems.

Atomic-6 is positioning itself as an intermediary that manages the supply chain and execution. It aggregates components from multiple suppliers, oversees spacecraft integration, licensing, launch and mission operations.

“What customers get is a single path from requirements to on-orbit operations,” said Chris Hadfield, a member of the company’s board of advisors. “You don’t need to stand up a satellite program to deploy compute capacity in space.”

The move comes amid projections of higher demand for computing infrastructure beyond Earth, driven in part by data-intensive applications such as artificial intelligence and remote sensing. On the ground, expanding data center capacity has been slowed by power constraints, permitting delays and regulatory hurdles.

“Space systems operate under a different regulatory regime, with more predictable licensing pathways and fewer public-facing constraints,” Hadfield said.

Founded in 2018 and based in Marietta, Georgia, Atomic-6 produces solar arrays, thermal management systems and protective shielding for spacecraft. The company has previously operated as a supplier to larger programs.

Smith said Atomic-6 contributed components to Lonestar Data Holdings’ “Freedom” data center, an experimental edge-computing payload that traveled to the moon in 2025 aboard Intuitive Machines’ Athena lander.

Smith said a fully integrated satellite could be delivered within 36 months of an order. The company is in the process of formalizing agreements with suppliers that will participate in the marketplace and expects to announce partners in the coming weeks.

“We have a good list of suppliers who’ve already verbally committed to this,” Smith said.

The goal is to make it easy for people to get compute in space, Smith said, “with clear and transparent pricing, and giving you the timeline of when we can launch.”