Cowboy Space unveils methane rocket and orbital power architecture

(SpaceEnergy) US space infrastructure developer Cowboy Space has unveiled detailed plans for a methane-fuelled rocket whose upper stage would become a megawatt-class orbital data centre, alongside a new commercial launch offering.

The company announced on 26 October that its Big Iron vehicle would incorporate a reusable first stage powered by nine liquid oxygen and methane Clydesdale engines, each designed to generate 300,000lbf of thrust.

The engines will use a gas-generator cycle, with methane selected partly to support booster reusability.

The 86m-tall stainless-steel rocket is designed to carry more than 15,000kg into sun-synchronous orbit.

Rather than discarding its upper stage after payload deployment, Cowboy Space intends to convert the stage into an operational computing spacecraft powered by deployable solar arrays.

The architecture incorporates several dual-purpose systems. The rocket's external structure would function as a radiator, ammonia propellant would subsequently serve as coolant, and nitrogen used for second-stage pressurisation would deploy the spacecraft's solar arrays.

The resulting orbital installation would measure approximately 132m by 73m and accommodate five computing racks.

Cowboy Space also introduced Big Iron Express, a proposed commercial launch service for government and private customers requiring orbital payload delivery and megawatt-class electrical power.

The company is targeting Big Iron's first flight in 2028.