Starcloud founders launch nonprofit bid to send probe to Alpha Centauri

The team behind Starcloud, a startup planning orbital GPU fleets, has unveiled a nonprofit mission called Fermi Explorer to send a 1-kilogram spacecraft toward Alpha Centauri. The project aims to use existing space technologies, with a planned launch in 2029 and a budget of about $15 million. It seeks partners, donations, and payload ideas, positioning itself as a lower-cost alternative to the defunct Breakthrough Starshot initiative.

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The Fermi Explorer team draws on experience from Starcloud, a startup focused on orbital GPU fleets. The mission's founders include Philip Johnston, Adi Oltean, Ezra Feilden, and program manager Garret Jameson. They plan to use electric propulsion and gravity assists to gradually accelerate the craft, keeping the spacecraft operational for roughly a dozen years before it enters a long coast phase.

The project contrasts sharply with Breakthrough Starshot, which sought laser propulsion but collapsed in 2025. Fermi Explorer deliberately accepts an 80,000-year timeline to keep costs near $15 million, relying on proven technology rather than new propulsion breakthroughs. The craft would be the sixth human object to exit the solar