The arrival of artificial intelligence has forced giants like Meta, Amazon or Starlink to build mega data centers. Resources are limited on Earth, so Elon Musk proposes taking them to space.
The plan is more than ambitious. The CEO of companies like Starlink, SpaceX and Tesla is aware of the huge amount of water and energy that data centers need. Space would solve some of the main problems.
Data centers in orbit
Elon Musk is a strong defender of data centers in orbit, he already has experience with his satellite internet network. Space would end the problem of electricity supply, there are no restrictions on solar energy, it is almost infinite.
Data centers in low orbit would also have no problems with real estate space, it is also practically unlimited. Musk assures that this It would end the drought faced by localities near megacenters.
SpaceX, now merged with xAI, filed a patent with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) late last month. The space giant intends to create a constellation of orbital data centers.
Musk intends to create up to one million satellites to orbit the Earth at altitudes between 500 and 1,930 kilometers. The operation in practice would be very similar to the Starlink network, but the technology magnate has collided with harsh reality.
NASA against data centers in space
SpaceX has not given too many details about one of its most ambitious projects. If their plans are fulfilled, they could overtake terrestrial data centers as the most affordable way to power AI.
Elon Musk has only three years to start the project. Rebekah Reed, former associate director of NASA and researcher at Harvard University, confirms that it will not be as easy as the Tesla CEO promises.
Reed questions the economic viability and limitations of operating data centers in space. “Treating orbit as an alternative solution to today’s energy-intensive AI training needs is, as OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently put it, ‘ridiculous,’” he comments for Financial Times.
Sam Altman abandoned his idea of creating data centers in space. Google CEO Sundar Pichai joins Musk in ensuring that we are just a decade away from having orbital data centers, the creator of ChatGPT now doubts this.
Rebekah Reed confirms that to be economically viable, costs must fall below $200 per kilogram, seven times lower than current levels. “That threshold is not expected to be reached until the mid-2030s,” he adds.
Maintenance also comes into play. If a simple chip fails, it is not possible to send a technician to fix it. “That task requires sophisticated maintenance in space or the acceptance of declining performance and stranded capital that becomes orbital debris as components age,” according to Reed.
Even in the most optimistic scenarios, Reed has made it clear that orbiting data centers are not a viable option to feed artificial intelligence in the short term.