Space-based data center

Design of a sun-synchronous orbit data center, they would orbit above the dawn / dusk transition of the planet.

Sun-synchronous orbit animation of AI supercomputing satellites

Space-based data centers or orbital AI infrastructure are proposed concepts to build AI data centers in the sun-synchronous orbit or other orbits utilizing space-based solar power. Electric power has become the main bottleneck for terrestrial AI infrastructure. ^{[1] [2]} Building AI data centers in space off-the-grid could become cost competitive with advancements in reusable rockets. ^{[3] [4]}

Advantages

See also: Liquid droplet radiator

• Constant sunlight in the sun-synchronous orbit
• Solar irradiance is 36% higher in Earth orbit than on the surface ^[5]
• No weather storms or clouds
• No property tax or land-use regulation
• Saves space for other land use
• Ample space for scalability
• Won't strain the power grid
• Radiative cooling in space reduces energy needed for thermal control

Disadvantages

• High launch costs
• Solar hardware and computer hardware must survive launch, space assembly, radiation, microgravity, and orbital debris.
• Kessler syndrome – runaway space debris
• Maintenance and repair are difficult
• Latency and bandwidth constrained
• Limited life span of solar panels and electronics ^[6]
• Satellite flares could inhibit ground-based and space-based observational astronomy ^[7]

Size and power generated

It would take ~1 square mile solar array in earth orbit to produce 1 gigawatt of power at 30% cell efficiency. ^[8]

Companies pursuing space-based AI infrastructure

• Aetherflux ^[9]
• Blue Origin ^[10]
• Google – Project Suncatcher ^[11]
• Nvidia ^[12]
• OpenAI ^{[13] [14]}
• SpaceX ^[15]
• Starcloud ^[16]

See also

• Interplanetary Internet
• Laser communication in space, microwave transmission, and communications satellite.
• Space launch market
• Space Network and Near Earth Network
• Solar cell research and solar-cell efficiency
• Solar panels on spacecraft
• Stargate
• Starlink

References

1. Phillips, Stephen Lacey, Nicola (May 22, 2024). "Energy is now the 'primary bottleneck' for AI".
2. McGeady, Cy; Majkut, Joseph; Harithas, Barath; Smith, Karl (March 3, 2025). "The Electricity Supply Bottleneck on U.S. AI Dominance" – via www.csis.org.
3. "Exploring a space-based, scalable AI infrastructure system design". research.google.
4. Rogelberg, Sasha. "Google CEO Sundar Pichai says we're just a decade away from a new normal of extraterrestrial data centers". Fortune.
5. "Are solar panels more efficient in space?". August 28, 2024.
6. Staff, TechRepublic (December 11, 2025). "Tech Billionaires Race to Build AI Data Centers in Space".
7. Borlaff, Alejandro S.; Marcum, Pamela M.; Howell, Steve B. (December 12, 2025). "Satellite megaconstellations will threaten space-based astronomy". Nature. 648 (8092): 51–57. Bibcode:2025Natur.648...51B. doi:10.1038/s41586-025-09759-5. PMC   12675296 . PMID   41339506.
8. "The Space Review: US terrestrial non-fossil fuel energy vs. space solar power". thespacereview.com.
9. Calma, Justine (December 10, 2025). "The scramble to launch data centers into space is heating up". The Verge.
10. Peterson, Micah Maidenberg and Becky (December 10, 2025). "Exclusive | Bezos and Musk Race to Bring Data Centers to Space". The Wall Street Journal.
11. Anisha Sircar (2025-11-25). "Google Plans To Run AI Data Centers In Space With Project Suncatcher". www.forbes.com.
12. "NVIDIA's H100 GPU Takes AI Processing to Space - IEEE Spectrum". spectrum.ieee.org.
13. Weidner, Noah (December 11, 2025). "Billionaires Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Sam Altman have a crazy new idea for outer space". TheStreet.
14. Bussey, Emma (December 4, 2025). "Sam Altman eyes rocket company to take on Elon Musk in space race". FOXBusiness.
15. "SpaceX and In - flight Data Center: Could This Be Elon Musk's Next Big AI Story?". eu.36kr.com.
16. Singh, Pia (December 10, 2025). "'Greetings, earthlings': Nvidia-backed Starcloud trains first AI model in space as orbital data center race heats up". CNBC.