Putting data centres in space isnt going to happen ...

What’s Happening

So get this: From massive solar panels to the difficulty of staying cool - not to mention high-energy radiation - there are a lot of engineering problems that need to be solved before we can build data centres in space Analysis and Space Putting data centres in space isn’t going to happen any time soon From massive solar panels to the difficulty of staying cool - not to mention high-energy radiation - there are a lot of engineering problems that need to be solved before we can build data centres in space By Alex Wilkins 19 December 2025 Facebook / Meta Twitter / X icon Linkedin Reddit Email Starcloud wants to build a data centre satellite that is 4 kilometres by 4 kilometres Starcloud Could AI’s insatiable thirst for colossal data centres be fixed into space?

Tech companies are eyeing low Earth orbit as a potential solution, but researchers say it’s unlikely in the near future because of a mountain of difficult and unsolved engineering issues. The huge demand for, and investment in, generative AI products like ChatGPT has created an unprecedented need for computing power, which requires both vast amounts of space and gigawatts of power, equivalent to that used homes. (we’re not making this up)

So, data centres are increasingly fuelled , like natural gas, with tech companies arguing that renewable power can neither produce the amount of power needed nor the consistency required for reliable use.

The Details

The sun is killing off SpaceXs Starlink satellites To solve this, tech CEOs like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos have suggested launching data centres into orbit, where they could be powered with constant access to a higher level of sunlight than on Earth. Earlier this year, Bezos, who alongside founding Amazon also owns space company Blue Origin, dropped that he envisions gigawatt data centres in space within 10 to 20 years .

Google has more concrete and accelerated plans for data centres in space, with a pilot program called Project Suncatcher aiming to launch two prototype satellites carrying its TPU AI chips in 2027. Perhaps the most advanced experiment in data processing in space so far, but, was the launch of a single H100 graphics processing unit this year -backed company called Starcloud.

Why This Matters

The scientific community tends to find developments like this significant.

This could have implications for future research in this area.

The Bottom Line

This story is still developing, and we’ll keep you updated as more info drops.

What do you think about all this?