Galactic Brain: US firm plans space-based data centers, power grid to challenge China

As the world gears up for the generative AI boom, scientists have warned that the data centers used to train and utilize these systems require an unsustainable amount of power.

Earlier this year, Aetherflux, a space-based solar power company, announced its plans to build a constellation of modular solar energy-harvesting satellites in low Earth orbit.

Now, the company has announced it aims to join the race to build data centers in orbit. The company’s new “Galactic Brain” project aims to circumvent the energy-intensive issue of cooling data centers on Earth by sending them up to space.

Orbital data centers to meet AI energy demand

Traditional concepts for space-based solar power have suggested firing large arrays to geostationary orbit (GEO). From that high vantage point, they would be able to harvest 24/7 unobscured sunlight.

What sets Aetherflux apart is the fact that they aim to use smaller satellites in low Earth orbit. While their satellites will periodically be covered by Earth’s shadow, a large constellation would still provide constant energy. The company will also transmit energy via infrared lasers, rather than radio waves.

Now, Aetherflux has announced a new plan: The company also aims to fire data centers to space. In a press statement, the company said it is looking to launch the first node of its Galactic Brain constellation by around the first quarter of 2027.

“The race for artificial general intelligence is fundamentally a race for compute capacity, and by extension, energy,” Aetherflux founder and CEO Baiju Bhatt, who also co-founded financial services firm Robinhood, said in the statement.

In the release, Aetherflux claims that its technology will “remove the limits faced by Earth-based data centers.” The company also described its space-based solar power technology as a “foundational” part of its new Galactic Brain project.

Challenging China and SpaceX

Aetherflux is far from the only company looking to build orbital data centers. Earlier this year, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt said that he acquired space startup Relativity Space—and placed himself as CEO—in order to build data centers in space.

In October, meanwhile, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said the company would be harnessing its Starlink infrastructure to build data centers in orbit. “Simply scaling up Starlink V3 satellites, which have high-speed laser links, would work,” Musk wrote on social media platform X. “SpaceX will be doing this.”

Aetherflux has a lot of catching up to do if it aims to compete with SpaceX. The company aims to launch its first sunlight-harvesting satellites to low Earth orbit sometime in 2026.

The company’s CEO Baiju Bhatt also took to X in August to claim that its company can help the US challenge China’s increasing space dominance. “The race for space solar power is accelerating, and we intend to lead at Aetherflux,” he wrote. “China is taking it seriously, and the U.S. Government should prioritize investments in space solar power to ensure America doesn’t cede energy and space leadership to China.”

Though Earth’s orbit is already incredibly congested, orbital data centers might be necessary. The world seems to be going full steam ahead with AI, despite the environmental implications. As a Goldman Sachs report from earlier this year pointed out, AI-driven energy demand could rise 165 percent by 2030.