Flexential Partners with Lonestar to Support First Lunar Data Center
Flexential, a leading provider of secure and flexible data center solutions, this month announced that it has joined forces with Lonestar Data Holdings Inc. to support the upcoming launch of Freedom, Lonestar’s second lunar data center.
Scheduled to launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket via Intuitive Machines, this mission is a critical step toward establishing a permanent data center on the Moon.
Ground-Based Support for Lunar Data Storage
Flexential’s Tampa data center will serve as the mission control platform for Lonestar’s lunar operations, providing colocation, interconnection, and professional services. The facility was chosen for its proximity to Florida’s Space Coast launch operations and its ability to deliver low-latency connectivity for critical functions. Flexential operates two data centers in Tampa and four in Florida as part of its FlexAnywhere® Platform, comprising more than 40 facilities across the U.S.
"Flexential's partnership with Lonestar represents our commitment to advancing data center capabilities beyond conventional boundaries," said Jason Carolan, Chief Innovation Officer at Flexential. "By supporting Lonestar’s space-based data center initiative, we are helping to create new possibilities for data storage and disaster recovery. This project demonstrates how innovative data center expertise can help organizations prepare for a resilient future with off-world storage solutions."
A New Era of Space-Based Resiliency
The growing demand for data center capacity, with U.S. power consumption expected to double from 17 GW in 2022 to 35 GW by 2030 (according to McKinsey & Company), is driving interest in space-based solutions. Storing data off-planet reduces reliance on terrestrial resources while enhancing security against natural disasters, warfare, and cyber threats.
The Freedom data center will provide resiliency, disaster recovery, and edge processing services for government and enterprise customers requiring the highest levels of data protection. The solar-powered data center leverages Solid-State Drives (SSDs) and a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) edge processor. Additionally, compliance with international space law ensures jurisdictional licensing advantages for government agencies.
Building the Lunar Economy
"Teamwork is everything. As we work to establish this next commercial data center on the Moon, testing it enroute in Cislunar space, being able to work with key terrestrial industry partners like Flexential is of critical importance to our customers as we all grow our offering," said Chris Stott, Founder and CEO of Lonestar.
Stott added, "Flexential’s expertise in critical infrastructure management aligns perfectly with our goals for secure, off-planet data storage, and its Tampa facility will be instrumental as we create new possibilities for data storage and disaster recovery beyond Earth."
All available capacity on Lonestar’s Freedom data center has been allocated for the upcoming launch, underscoring strong demand for space-based resiliency solutions. The company is working toward a broader vision of developing a network of lunar-based data centers to support future digital infrastructure.
Expanding the Space Data Center Frontier
Lonestar and Flexential are part of a growing movement leveraging private space missions for data infrastructure. The New Space Economy is opening doors for innovative technology startups, with companies like Sidus Space and Wallaroo.AI exploring space-based edge computing. Meanwhile, Lonestar continues to push boundaries by integrating cloud and space technologies.
"Expanding the world’s economy to include the Moon is the next whitespace in the New Space Economy," said Brad Harrison, Founder and Managing Partner at Scout Ventures, one of Lonestar's key investors. "Data security and storage will be essential for the next generation of lunar exploration."
Intuitive Machines Prepares for IM-2 Mission
As part of the ongoing expansion of lunar infrastructure, Intuitive Machines has now delivered its IM-2 lunar lander, named Athena, to Cape Canaveral, Florida. The mission, in coordination with SpaceX, is scheduled for launch within a four-day window opening no earlier than February 26, 2025. Athena's mission will validate resource prospecting, mobility, and communications infrastructure in the Moon’s Mons Mouton region, one of nine potential Artemis III landing sites.
"Each lunar mission builds on the last, and Athena’s arrival in Florida demonstrates our dedication to delivering on the Company’s vision to providing a reliable cadence of lunar delivery services," said Steve Altemus, CEO of Intuitive Machines. "This commitment to flying missions reinforces our broader efforts of developing a heavy cargo lander, establishing a lunar data relay satellite constellation, and providing sustainable infrastructure services at the Moon to enable further exploration of the solar system."
Commanded through Intuitive Machines’ commercial Lunar Data Network, IM-2 is the second of four planned missions under NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative. These missions aim to advance scientific understanding and lay the groundwork for long-term lunar exploration under the Artemis program.
Technical Details and Lessons from IM-1
As noted by concurrent reporting from Sebastian Moss of Data Center Dynamics, the IM-2 mission follows a software-only test on the IM-1 lander, which last February became the first commercial spacecraft to land on the Moon. However, the lander inadvertently tipped over, hampering its communication abilities and leaving its solar panels closer to the ground than expected. These and other challenges led to the IM-2 mission being scheduled within the current February 26 launch window.
Moss notes that Lonestar’s Freedom payload onboard IM-2 is a small data center featuring an 8TB SSD and a single Microchip PolarFire SoC FPGA. The mission will test how storage performs in the lunar environment, with the aforementioned broader goal of developing the Moon as a viable disaster-recovery site for critical data.
In this video, Flexential CIO Jason Carolan talks about how the company is meeting the data center industry's challenges of today by innovating for its future.
Matt Vincent
A B2B technology journalist and editor with more than two decades of experience, Matt Vincent is Editor in Chief of Data Center Frontier.
