Sophia Space and Caltech secure space data center patent

Sophia Space Inc. announced that it and Caltech have secured U.S. Patent No. 12,679,564 for Space-Based Data Centers and expanded R&D through a new sponsored research agreement with Caltech.

• The patent, filed in October 2024 and issued on July 14, 2026, covers large-scale, modular data centers in space using solar energy and passive heat radiation into deep space.
• Sophia Space said the invention came from an internal R&D program within JPL managed by Caltech, and named seven inventors from JPL, Caltech, and Sophia Space.
• Separately, Sophia Space is increasing its R&D investment via a new sponsored research agreement with Caltech to develop thermal and structural technologies for orbiting data center architectures.
• The company said it has $22 million in total funding and plans a 2027 on-orbit demonstration aboard an Apex Nova satellite bus.