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.

History of space-based data center proposals and deployment

Early thinking about space-based computing infrastructure grew out of mid-20th-century visions for large orbital industrial systems, most notably proposals for space-based solar power, which were popularized in both technical literature and science writing by figures such as Isaac Asimov in the 1940s. These ideas emphasized exploiting the vacuum, continuous solar energy, and thermal characteristics of space to support power-intensive activities that would be difficult or inefficient on Earth.

In the 21st century, advances in small satellites, reusable launch vehicles, and high-performance computing revived interest in space-based data centers, with governments and private companies exploring orbital or near-space platforms for edge computing, secure data handling, and low-latency processing of Earth-observation data.

In September 2024, Y Combinator-backed Starcloud released a white paper detailing plans to build multiple gigawatts of AI compute in orbit. It was the first widely cited proposal to actually start building large orbital data centers.

Starcloud-1 deployment from a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket hosting the first Nvidia H100 in space on November 2nd, 2025

In 2025, Starcloud deployed an NVIDIA H100-class system and became the first company to train an LLM in space and run a version of Google Gemini in space.

In January 2026, SpaceX filed plans with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for millions of satellites, leveraging reusable launches and Starlink integration to extend cloud and AI computing into orbit. Around the same time, Blue Origin announced the TeraWave constellation of about 5,400 satellites, designed to provide high‑throughput networking for data centers, enterprise, and government customers. Meanwhile, China announced a 200,000‑satellite constellation, focusing on state coordination, data sovereignty, and in-orbit processing for secure, time-critical applications.

Feasibility

In November 2025, Google published an feasibility study on space-based data centers. The authors argued that if launch costs to low earth orbit reached US$200/kg, the launch cost for data center satellites could be cost effective relative to current energy costs for ground-based data centers. They project this may occur around 2035 if SpaceX's Starship project scales to 180 launches/year by then.

Advantages

• Some sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) planes have constant sunlight in the dawn/dusk which could provide continuous solar energy. SSO is a limited resource and proper management and sharing of it is required.
• Solar irradiance is 36% higher in Earth orbit than on the surface
• No Earth weather storms or clouds, however more exposed to Solar storms.
• No property tax or land-use regulation.
• Saves space for other land use.
• Ample space for scalability.
• Won't strain the power grid.
• Some proponents are citing cooling. Spacecraft thermal control is still a challenge.

Disadvantages

The deployment of space-based data centers raises several technical, economic, and environmental concerns.

• Launch costs are substantial.
• Solar hardware and computer hardware must survive launch, space assembly, radiation, microgravity, and orbital debris.
• The lifespan of solar panels and electronics is limited.
  • Maintenance and repair in space (known as On-Orbit Servicing (OOS)) are emerging solutions and still a challenge.
  • Disposable data centre: technology obsolescence of AI data centre being a concern and difficult maintenance in space imply the single-use purpose of those space data centres.
• The environmental impact on Earth has its own challenges:
  • The environmental impact of launches need to be addressed.
  • Deployment consumes Earth resources that cannot be recovered or recycled. Computers require lots of resources, some of which are strategic. Recycling e-waste is already a challenge on Earth and extremely unlikely in space.
• Space debris (orbit pollution) is another sustainability challenge for space:
  • Orbits are, like any resources, a limited physical and electromagnetic resource and available for all mankind. The accumulation of satellites on a particular orbit reduces the use of space for other purposes.
  • A consequence of the increase of satellite in orbit is a higher risk of the runaway of space debris (see Kessler syndrome). This means some orbits could become unusable.
• Latency and bandwidth are constrained in space, and consumes limited electromagnetic resources.
• Satellite flares could inhibit ground-based and space-based observational astronomy.

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.

Companies pursuing space-based AI infrastructure

• Aetherflux
• Blue Origin
• Google – Project Suncatcher
• Nvidia
• OpenAI
• SpaceX
• Starcloud

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