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Running data centers in space might sound like science fiction, but Google’s CEO is betting it’ll become a practical way to handle AI’s soaring energy demands, possibly within a “decade or so.”
"We want to put these data centers in space, closer to the Sun," allowing them to harness the solar energy in Earth’s orbit, Sundar Pichai said in an interview with Fox News. "There’s no doubt to me that in a decade or so...we'll be viewing it as a more normal way to build data centers."
His statement signals that Google sees real promise in the concept. The tech giant debuted a prototype “research moonshot” called Project Suncatcher last month, and it plans on sending up a pair of test satellites in early 2027, each with custom AI server chips. From there, Google hopes to gradually scale up the technology, Pichai told Fox News.
The concept might also spark a new space race, as Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk have also been discussing the possibility of operating data centers in Earth’s orbit.
In addition, a startup called Starcloud successfully sent up its own test satellite carrying an Nvidia H100 GPU into space. Starcloud CEO Philip Johnston told PCMag last month that the satellite is operational and has been undergoing the “commissioning” phase to verify that all functions are working properly.
Still, a major challenge facing orbiting data centers is cooling the AI chips and protecting them from cosmic radiation. The vacuum of space means there’s no air to carry the heat away. So, the AI chips will need a built-in cooling system that uses stored air or liquid. Starcloud says it’s also developing a “lightweight deployable radiator design with a very large area—by far the largest radiators deployed in space,” with the goal of radiating the heat away toward deep space.