AI Data Centers Eye Space as Their Next Frontier

Moves are gaining momentum to make Earth's orbit the new base for 'AI data centers,' facilities that process the vast amounts of data used by artificial intelligence (AI). In January, Elon Musk's SpaceX applied to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to launch up to one million data centers into Earth's orbit, aiming to maximize AI's potential and reduce environmental burdens on the planet.

Behind this vision lies the rapid growth of the AI industry. Current AI data centers consume enormous amounts of electricity and require large volumes of water for computer cooling. Residents in areas with large data centers are raising concerns about rising resource prices and increased environmental strain, while the problem of energy grid overload is also worsening.

SpaceX is not the only entity focusing on space computing infrastructure. Google plans to launch a test fleet of 80 data processing satellites as early as next year. Starboard, a startup headquartered in Washington State, successfully orbited a satellite equipped with NVIDIA H100 GPUs last November, completing the first in-orbit demonstration test for advanced AI chips. Thanks to advancements in next-generation launch vehicle technology, such as SpaceX's Starship super heavy-lift rocket, launch costs are steadily decreasing.