There’s a lot to question about the plans of ConnectX, a Los Angeles-based startup that plans to build a new type of big data system in space — running on satellites and using a new type of non-binary processor instruction — but founder and CEO Lance Parker is adamant about his vision. “It will work,” he said during an interview about the company’s strategy.

To be more specific, ConnectX wants to make the process of storing data more efficient and also improve data-analysis speeds; space is only the ideal real estate. The real secret sauce behind ConnectX is a new computing model that replaces binary code with symbols that Parker says can store data much more efficiently. He makes a comparison to written language, where an English sentence can sometimes be captured in a single Chinese character.

ConnectX’s initial satellites will be about the size of a cantaloupe, and Parker…