TAMPA, Fla. — The founders of orbital data center startup Starcloud have formed a nonprofit to send an uncrewed, refrigerator-sized spacecraft toward Alpha Centauri by the end of 2029 on a journey they expect to take nearly 80,000 years.

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Jason Rainbow writes about satellite telecom, finance and commercial markets for SpaceNews. He has spent more than a decade covering the global space industry as a business journalist. Previously, he was Group Editor-in-Chief for Finance Information Group,...