Satellite designer Sidus Space and space data center firm Lonestar have expanded their agreement to develop satellites.

Sidus and Lonestar signed has advanced an agreement signed in April this year, initially set to build six lunar data storage satellites for Lonestar Data Holdings.

Earlier this year, Lonestar deployed the first data center on the Moon as part of the troubled IM-2 mission. DCD profiled the journey in a feature that was itself taken to the lunar surface.

After that test, Lonestar plans to focus on satellite-based data storage for its next efforts, with the Sidus deal.

The $120 million agreement has since expanded into a cislunar constellation. Lonestar’s cislunar ambitions will be supported by Atomic-6 Light Wing solar arrays, which will power Sidus’ LizzieSat satellites.

“We put out an industry-wide request for proposal to 18 satellite manufacturers, such as Boeing, Lockheed, and others last year, and Sidus won the proposal,” Christopher Stott, chairman and CEO at Lonestar, told DCD. “[Sidus] were very competitive and their team is very professional.”

Atomic-6’s Light Wing arrays were selected after extensive engineering and commercial reviews to hit the criteria Lonestar and Sidus needed to stand up to cislunar space. The arrays deliver 200 watts per kilogram, which the companies claim to be four times greater than the hardware of their peers.

The constellation Lonestar is planning will enable secure data storage for terrestrial customers and lunar ventures that could stem from NASA's Artemis moon exploration program.

“Our next missions are to the Lunar L1 Lagrange point and not to the lunar surface,” Stott told DCD. “The L1 Lagrange Point is a strategic orbital position in between the Earth and the Moon, 300,000km away from Earth. When digital infrastructure is needed for Artemis and others, we will be there to provide it.”

Analysis Mason projects that the revenue opportunity in the lunar market will reach $188 billion between 2024 and 2034, assuming a generous budget for ventures fuelled by high-risk investment can be sustained.

“This collaboration marks a key advancement as we evolve LizzieSat in executing our vision for lunar satellite services,” said Carol Craig, CEO of Sidus Space, in a statement. “We’re proud to lead a commercial-first initiative that not only delivers data security solutions in cislunar space but also reinforces our LizzieSat platform’s adaptability and utility across deep space operations.”

“What sets LizzieSat apart is its modular architecture, hybrid communications capabilities (including X-band and S-band), and onboard edge computing,” Craig continued. “This enables near real-time data processing in space, reduces latency, and minimizes reliance on Earth-based infrastructure.”

Stott called space the new data center region, with its own unique geography, physical properties, and regulatory environment, that happens to be ideally suited for the storage of sovereign data.

“We see a future where cislunar and lunar data infrastructure, much like satellite communications today, is a seamless and yet critical part of all data center infrastructure,” Stott said.