Out-of-this-world fix for data center backlash could be on NASA's horizon

Isaacman said Wednesday that solar-powered facilities in space could tap the sun's energy without competing for the land, water and grid capacity required by sprawling data centers proposed across the country.

"Let's take our data centers, put them in Earth orbit, take advantage of that free fusion reactor that's out there for us and use that to ensure we do win the space race for sure, but the AI race, too," Isaacman said in an interview with Nexstar DC.

Half of those opposed said environmental issues, including energy and water use, pollution and noise, were their chief concern.

The idea comes with its own engineering problems. AI chips produce immense heat, and satellites would have to release it through large radiators. Operators would also need cheap, reliable launches, radiation-resistant hardware and laser links fast enough to connect thousands of computers spread across orbit.

That has not stopped companies from trying to turn the concept into a business. Google has called Project Suncatcher a "moonshot" to place its TPU chips on solar-powered satellites linked by lasers. It plans to launch two prototype satellites by early 2027 to test its hardware in orbit and determine whether the satellites can share data fast enough for AI workloads.

Small-scale tests are already underway. Startup Starcloud launched a satellite carrying a Nvidia H100 chip in November and says it later ran a version of Google's Gemini model and trained a small language model in space. Starcloud plans its first commercial mission, Starcloud-2, for 2027.

SpaceX has also asked the Federal Communications Commission for authority to deploy as many as 1 million orbital data-center satellites between 500 and 2,000 kilometers above Earth. The satellites would use optical links to communicate with one another and SpaceX's Starlink network. The FCC has accepted the application for review but has not approved the constellation.