THERMAORBIT SYSTEMS

ThermaOrbit Systems develops next generation cooling solutions for the space economy

In experimental validation · Patent application in preparation

THERMAORBIT SYSTEMS

Solar power in orbit is effectively unlimited. Getting rid of heat is not.

Without an atmosphere there is no convection and nothing to conduct heat into. Radiation is the only path out, and it is expensive in both mass and space.

Conventional spacecraft answer this with fixed metal panels. That is workable at the kilowatt scale of a satellite. At the megawatt scale of a data centre it becomes the binding constraint: radiator area is welded to the size of the chassis, so compute density cannot outgrow the platform it sits on.

Radiator area compared with compute area for one megawatt Two long strips of radiator panel totalling about two thousand square metres, drawn either side of a small twelve square metre block of computing hardware, across a span of one hundred metres. 1 MW of compute 4 × 3 m · 12 m² Radiator ≈ 2,000 m² · 8–30 t 100 m
To scale. One megawatt of computing occupies roughly 12 m². The radiator that keeps it alive occupies around 2,000 m² and weighs 8 to 30 tonnes.

No convection, no conduction

Thermal radiation is the least mass-efficient way there is to move energy — and in vacuum it is the only one available.

Area tied to the chassis

Panel area scales with electrical power and must be carried by the structure, so the platform sets the ceiling on compute.

Unsolved at scale

No operator has demonstrated heat rejection at megawatt scale. It is the open problem in front of the whole sector.

An order of magnitude, not a percentage

We are not making the panel bigger. We are replacing the principle by which heat leaves the spacecraft, with a system designed from the start for megawatt-class loads.

Thermal system mass per megawatt Conventional panel radiators weigh eight to thirty tonnes per megawatt rejected. The ThermaOrbit system is designed at 0.42 tonnes per megawatt, drawn to the same scale. Conventional panels 8–30 t per MW ThermaOrbit 0.42 t per MW
Thermal system mass per megawatt rejected, drawn to scale. Conventional figure from ISS flight data and published literature; ours from the internal design study, excluding deployment structure.

We are not publishing the technical approach while the patent application is in preparation. For investor, partner or press enquiries we are glad to go into detail under a non-disclosure agreement.

What we are promising operators

Short term

Scale-up at a price that works

Launch is priced on mass. Taking the thermal system down by an order of magnitude turns tonnes of radiator into tonnes of payload, and makes the first megawatt-class facilities affordable to fly.

Long term

Scalability at all

Beyond a certain power there is no panel design that can be built, folded and deployed. We are building the heat rejection that lets orbital compute keep growing once conventional radiators stop being an option.

Thermal architecture is fixed when a platform is designed, not when it is procured. Once frozen, the interface stays for the life of the platform — which is why we work with operators during design rather than after it.

Founders

Dr. Tim Smolnik Chemistry, fluid systems, coordination tim.smolnik@thermaorbitsystems.com
Sascha Weber Design and experiment sascha.weber@thermaorbitsystems.com

Supported by specialists in radiative physics and spacecraft systems engineering, and by advisors from the technology and space sectors.

Get in touch

For investor, partnership or press enquiries. Write to tim.smolnik@thermaorbitsystems.com or use the form. We normally reply within a few working days.