The Sustainable Markets Initiative (SMI) and US-based space technology company Lonestar Data Holdings Inc. have announced a collaboration to advance secure, sovereign data storage and promote sustainability in space infrastructure, with plans to archive key sustainability charters and environmental data aboard Lonestar’s StarVault™ low Earth orbit mission.
The announcement was made on 6 November 2026 at the SMI Business Forum in St John’s, Antigua and Barbuda, held alongside the 2026 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM). The collaboration also included a commitment to provide one terabyte of data storage to every Commonwealth country, extending the initiative’s focus on data resilience and sovereign access to digital infrastructure.
Under the planned mission, approved digital copies of the SMI’s Astra Carta and Terra Carta charters, together with selected environmental and climate-related data, will be stored aboard the StarVault pathfinder mission. The materials are intended to form a secure, immutable archive beyond Earth, demonstrating how orbital data storage could provide an additional layer of protection for important records.
The initiative brings together the SMI’s work on sustainable economic transition and responsible space activity with Lonestar’s development of space-based data storage and processing technology. The partnership will examine how orbital infrastructure can complement terrestrial data systems, strengthen digital resilience and support the data sovereignty requirements of governments and other organisations.
The announcement comes as governments and businesses become increasingly reliant on digital records, information systems and data infrastructure. The security and availability of this information have become important considerations for public administration, financial services, scientific research and economic activity. Storing selected records beyond terrestrial infrastructure could offer an additional preservation option, particularly where long-term access and protection are priorities.
For Commonwealth countries, the proposed allocation of one terabyte of storage capacity each introduces a further dimension to the collaboration. Data sovereignty remains an important consideration for governments seeking greater control over how national information is stored, protected and accessed. The commitment could create opportunities to explore space-based storage as an additional option for preserving public records and other important digital assets, although the practical arrangements for access, allocation and use were not detailed in the announcement.
Jennifer Jordan-Saifi, Chief Executive Officer of the Sustainable Markets Initiative, said the collaboration reflected the growing importance of space to digital infrastructure resilience and the protection of the planet. She said the partnership would demonstrate how space-based data infrastructure could safeguard important records while integrating sustainability into the development of emerging space technologies.
The SMI was founded by His Majesty King Charles III in 2020, when he was Prince of Wales, to mobilise private-sector leadership in accelerating the transition towards sustainable markets. Its Astra Carta framework extends the principles of the Terra Carta into the space economy, setting out a roadmap for embedding sustainability into space-related activities and exploration.
The Terra Carta provides a framework for aligning business activity with environmental and social priorities, while the Astra Carta addresses the sustainability implications of an expanding space economy. As commercial and institutional activity in space grows, the framework places emphasis on ensuring that the development of new technologies and infrastructure considers their wider environmental and societal effects.
The planned StarVault archive is intended to provide a practical demonstration of these principles. By placing the two charters alongside environmental and climate-related information in an orbital storage node, the initiative will connect sustainability commitments with the development of new digital infrastructure. It also reflects the possibility of using space-based systems to preserve information relevant to environmental monitoring and long-term climate research.
Stephen Eisele, Chief Executive Officer of Lonestar Data Holdings, said data protection and sustainability were becoming increasingly connected concerns for governments and businesses. He described the collaboration as an opportunity to demonstrate secure off-world data preservation while highlighting the importance of responsible development in the next generation of digital infrastructure.
Lonestar is developing StarVault as a platform for space-based data storage and processing. The collaboration with the SMI will explore how this infrastructure could operate alongside conventional data centres and support organisations seeking additional protection for critical information. However, the announcement did not specify the mission’s launch date, technical capacity beyond the stated Commonwealth commitment or the detailed arrangements governing data access and retrieval.
The partnership also raises questions about the environmental performance of space-based data infrastructure. The announcement points to the potential for data centres in space to benefit from abundant power and cooling resources, reducing operational water and electricity consumption compared with some terrestrial systems. These potential advantages could influence future discussions about the sustainability of digital infrastructure as demand for data storage and processing continues to increase.
However, assessing the overall environmental performance of orbital data centres would require consideration of more than their operational energy and cooling requirements. The resources needed to manufacture, launch, maintain and eventually decommission space infrastructure will also shape its environmental footprint. The sustainability of such systems will therefore depend on how these factors are incorporated into their design and operation.
The collaboration reflects a wider intersection between the space economy, digital infrastructure and sustainability. Governments and businesses are exploring ways to strengthen the resilience of information systems while responding to growing expectations around data governance, environmental responsibility and technological security. Space-based storage remains an emerging area, but initiatives such as StarVault could provide an opportunity to test its role in the wider digital infrastructure landscape.
For the Sustainable Markets Initiative, the project provides a way to translate the Astra Carta’s principles into a practical application involving private-sector technology. For Lonestar, it creates an opportunity to demonstrate the potential of orbital data storage through a partnership focused on sovereign data protection and environmental information.
The longer-term significance of the collaboration will depend on the mission’s execution, the reliability of its storage technology and the ability to establish practical frameworks for governments and other users. As space-based digital infrastructure develops, the challenge will be to ensure that innovation in the sector is accompanied by credible sustainability standards, secure data governance and responsible management of activity beyond Earth.
