Cooling the infinite: Thermal control for space data centers

There is unlimited space in space — but thermal control is fundamentally limited.

As space infrastructure evolves toward high-payload satellites, manned moon and mars mission, cryogenic propellant depots, and in-orbit data processing, thermal management has become one of the primary system bottlenecks. In the vacuum of space, heat cannot be removed by convection. Every watt of waste heat must be actively transported away from the heat source and radiated — efficiently, reliably, and at scale.

For future space systems, thermal control is no longer a subsystem. It is an enabling architecture.

From Heat Rejection to zero-boil-off control

Modern space systems generate unprecedented amounts of heat. Yet increasing radiator size comes at the cost of mass, volume, and deployment complexity. The key lies not only in rejecting heat — but in controlling where and at which temperature level heat is rejected. This is where active thermal management and cryogenic cooling architectures come into play.

Celeroton: Turbo compressors for large thermal loads in space

Celeroton develops high-speed, oil-free turbo compressors that form the core of advanced cryocooler and heat-pump systems for space applications. Unlike traditional space cooling solutions optimized for small sensor thermal loads, Celeroton compressors are designed for scalable, high-throughput thermal management: Operation in vacuum and zero gravity, hermetically sealed, leak-tight designs, no lubrication, no wear, no contamination, optimized for continuous operation at high rotational speeds. This makes them ideally suited for:

• Zero-boil-off (ZBO) cryogenic propellant storage systems
• High-power electronics cooling
• In-orbit data centers and processing nodes
• Active thermal control of large manned and unmanned spacecraft platforms

Cryocoolers for space — Enabling zero-boil-off at system level

For zero-boil-off cryocooler breadboard and engineering models, Celeroton offers off-the-shelf helium or neon compressors to accelerate system development. As an example:

CT-1052 helium compressor

• Helium-leak-tight, hermetically sealed architecture
• Designed for cryogenic circulation loops
• Enables defined mass flow for ZBO cryocooler concepts
• Ideal for breadboard validation of high-capacity cryogenic systems

Besides compressors, also expander solutions based on standardized drivetrains with gas bearings are available at Celeroton.

Cooling tomorrow’s space infrastructure

The future of space will be defined by power density, endurance, and scalability. Whether enabling zero-boil-off propellant storage or cooling high-power onboard computing, active thermal control will be the backbone of next-generation space infrastructure.

There may be unlimited space in space — but only those with the right thermal tools will be able to use it.

Celeroton delivers the key technology for large-scale thermal control in space. Reach out to us under moc.notorelec@selas to discuss your requirements and gain a head start on your thermal architecture.