Orbital has picked Reflex Aerospace of Germany as its satellite platform partner for its planned space data center constellation.
Orbital has selected Reflex Aerospace, a leading German satellite manufacturer, as its spacecraft platform partner and entered into a development agreement for its planned orbital data center constellation.
The agreement marks Reflex Aerospace’s first customer in the United States and the beginning of a strategic collaboration to develop next-generation computing infrastructure in orbit. Reflex is based in Berlin and Munich.
Under the agreement, Reflex Aerospace will lead the design of the satellite bus platform for Orbital-1 and the constellation that follows, and provide it on an exclusive basis to Orbital for orbital compute applications, applying its expertise in mission-specific, high-performance, adaptable satellite platforms to support one of the industry’s most ambitious space infrastructure programs.
Orbital-1 takes on the hardest problems in orbital compute: rejecting hundreds of kilowatts of heat continuously and passively to deep space, generating and distributing power from solar arrays far larger than any commercial satellite flies today, and designing the spacecraft from day one to be built in volume rather than as a one-off.
Engineering teams from Orbital in Los Angeles and Reflex Aerospace in Berlin and Munich are
working as a single integrated program team across the Atlantic, with Reflex Aerospace serving
as system integrator for the space system and leading the satellite bus platform design.
“Reflex is exactly the partner we need to build data centers in orbit. Orbital data centers demand complex avionics, precision control of very large structures, and reliability over years in orbit, and Reflex’s proven satellite bus platform gives us a foundation we can build on fast,” said Euwyn Poon, CEO of Orbital, in a statement. “Our model is to move at maximum speed by
working with the best in the world at every layer, from spacecraft platforms to manufacturing to
launch. Reflex, as a proven European platform builder, is a cornerstone of that model, and we’re proud to be their first US customer.”
Orbital recently unveiled plans for a constellation of up to 100,000 satellites intended to provide
large-scale computing capacity in orbit. The concept aims to leverage the unique characteristics of the space environment to enable energy-efficient AI and high-performance computing applications while reducing reliance on terrestrial infrastructure.
With planned peak power levels approaching 250 kilowatts, Orbital-1 represents a significant
step beyond traditional satellite architectures and highlights the growing demand for compute in space.
The partnership reflects Orbital’s model of moving at maximum speed by working with the best
in the world at each layer of the stack — spacecraft platforms, manufacturing, and launch —
rather than building everything in-house. Reflex Aerospace, a proven European platform builder joining an American constellation program, is a cornerstone of that model, and the agreement marks a further deepening of the transatlantic space economy.
Founded by Euwyn Poon and headquartered in Los Angeles, Orbital is backed by a16z
speedrun and other leading technology investors.