Key facts
- Cowboy Space plans to launch its Big Iron rocket before the end of 2028.
- The Big Iron rocket will be 86 meters tall and 4.7 meters in diameter.
- The rocket will carry up to 18 metric tons to low-Earth orbit.
- The Big Iron's upper stage will be the core of a data center spacecraft with five racks of GPUs and six inter-satellite laser links.
- Cowboy Space was founded in 2024 by Baiju Bhatt, co-founder of Robinhood.
- Virgin Galactic's new rocket plane, Apeiron, is undergoing preparations for test flights.
Cowboy Space, a startup founded by Robinhood co-founder Baiju Bhatt, has unveiled plans for its Big Iron rocket, a medium-lift launch vehicle designed to carry up to 18 metric tons to low-Earth orbit. The rocket, named after a Marty Robbins song, is slated for launch before the end of 2028. Its upper stage will form the core of the company's planned data center spacecraft, equipped with GPUs and inter-satellite laser links. The company aims to capitalize on the growing market for space-based AI.