orbital data center

SpaceX launched its Starship rocket on the 14th test flight of the program, streaming the attempt live as the vehicle headed toward orbit. Viewers worldwide followed the coverage, with interest centered on how the spacecraft performs through launch, stage separation and reentry. Each flight is used to gather data that feeds into future Starship missions, which SpaceX eventually aims to use for Moon and Mars travel.

Europe and the United Arab Emirates are planning a $1 billion data center in orbit, built around 50 connected satellite computers. A central 'LLM store' would let users choose which open source AI model to run on data gathered by satellite sensors, processing information in space rather than beaming it all back to Earth. The project highlights growing interest in orbital computing for space-based data processing.

Google is planning to launch an experimental satellite into orbit, marking the first move by a Big Tech company toward building AI data centers in space. The report, from the New York Times, signals the company's interest in shifting computing infrastructure beyond Earth, a concept floated to address the enormous power and cooling demands of AI.

Elon Musk claimed SpaceX's plans for orbital computing, built on its Starlink satellite network, will turn out 'way better' than analysts' predictions by 2028. The comments point to ambitions to process data in space using satellite constellations rather than ground-based data centres. Reaction so far centers on skepticism versus excitement about the technical and commercial feasibility of large-scale compute infrastructure in orbit.

Google is testing AI chips intended for 'fractionalized' data centers in space, an approach that would split computing workloads across orbiting infrastructure rather than single large facilities. The project signals a push to move AI compute beyond terrestrial power and cooling limits. Details on timeline, partners and technical results remain limited, but the initiative underscores growing tech-industry interest in orbital data infrastructure.