Lonestar and Phison recently launched a unique data center infrastructure aboard a SpaceX rocket, aiming for the moon. This mission represents a groundbreaking step for data storage.
The payload includes Phison’s solid state drives (SSDs), designed for data centers, filled with data from Lonestar’s clients. The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to land on March 4, marking the start of the first-ever lunar data center. The companies envision expanding this center to hold up to a petabyte of storage in the future.
Chris Stott, Lonestar’s founder and CEO, shared that the idea for a space data center dates back to 2018. At that time, clients expressed a desire to store data off Earth, protecting it from disasters and cyber threats.
“Data is humanity’s most valuable asset, even more precious than oil,” Stott said, highlighting the growing concern over data protection.
Teaming up with Phison was a logical choice. They already provided storage for NASA’s Mars missions and offer custom solutions through their design service, Imagine Plus.
“When Chris reached out, we were thrilled,” said Michael Wu from Phison. “We adapted our standard products to meet the unique needs of this mission.”
Since their partnership in 2021, the companies have focused on creating SSDs suitable for space. Stott emphasized the importance of durability, noting that problems in space technology are harder to fix.
“SSDs are crucial because they have no moving parts, making them reliable for these missions,” Stott explained, mentioning their goal to serve governments and corporations worldwide.
The technology was ready for launch by 2023. An earlier test in early 2024 confirmed its readiness.
Wednesday’s launch carried a variety of customer data, including government recovery plans and even a music video from Imagine Dragons, promoting their song from a space-themed game.
Lonestar is not alone in venturing into space for data storage. Lumen Orbit, a startup from Y Combinator, has raised over $21 million to develop similar technologies.
With the rising demand for AI-driven hardware, space storage solutions present vast opportunities, offering more capacity and solar energy advantages that terrestrial centers can’t provide.
Looking ahead, Lonestar aims to partner with satellite manufacturer Sidus Space to launch six data storage crafts by 2027-2030.
Stott expressed admiration for the advancements in space technology, noting that today’s capability far surpasses that of the Apollo program, which had a mere 2 kilobytes of RAM compared to their current mission’s 1 gigabyte of RAM and 8 terabytes of storage.
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