AI Data Centres In Space: Why Big Tech Wants To Take Compute Beyond Earth

The artificial intelligence boom is pushing the world’s biggest tech companies into a completely new frontier — outer space. Running advanced AI models on Earth is becoming painfully expensive. Power costs are skyrocketing, data centres burn enormous amounts of electricity around the clock, and cooling systems are struggling to keep pace with the heat generated by high-performance GPUs. That combination has led players like Google, Nvidia, Amazon, and SpaceX to explore a radical solution: moving AI compute infrastructure into orbit. These companies believe space-based data centres could solve their biggest limitations while unlocking essentially limitless energy. The result is a race to rethink how, and where, the next generation of AI will operate.

Why AI Companies Are Looking to Space

AI workloads keep growing, and so do the costs. Vast clusters of GPUs handling millions of queries require nonstop electricity and heavy cooling. For Google, Amazon, Nvidia, and SpaceX, the math no longer scales cleanly on Earth.

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Two major pressures are driving the shift:

Energy costs

AI data centres need enormous power — both to run specialised GPUs and to cool them. As adoption grows, energy becomes one of the biggest expenses. Space offers a different equation entirely. Satellites can run on solar power, dramatically reducing operational costs over time.

Cooling challenges

AI servers generate intense heat. Current cooling systems — immersion tanks, advanced air-cooling, liquid loops — are expensive and resource-intensive. In space, the vacuum and constant radiation environment allow heat dissipation without traditional infrastructure.

Together, these pressures have pushed tech companies to consider orbit as the next logical step.

Google’s Project Suncatcher

Google is exploring a constellation of solar-powered satellites designed to hold onboard TPUs linked by free-space optical connections. Sundar Pichai says Project Suncatcher could allow Google to scale compute without relying on Earth-based power grids or cooling systems. Right now, the project is still conceptual, but it signals Google’s long-term intention: shifting heavy AI workloads into space.

Nvidia and Starcloud Take the Lead

Nvidia is going further, faster. Startup Starcloud, part of Nvidia’s Inception programme, is building a satellite powered entirely by solar energy and equipped with Nvidia H100 GPUs. Its upcoming Starcloud-1 satellite promises nearly 100 times more GPU power than any previous in-orbit compute system. The goal is clear — create an orbital AI supercomputer capable of processing at scale without Earth’s resource constraints.

Amazon and SpaceX Share the Same Ambition

Jeff Bezos has openly predicted that space-based AI compute clusters will become normal in the next decade or two, outperforming Earth-bound data centres by orders of magnitude. Meanwhile, Elon Musk has hinted that SpaceX could adapt its Starlink V3 satellites — which already feature high-speed laser links—into orbital AI compute units. If that happens, SpaceX could become one of the first large-scale operators of AI-capable satellites.

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The Challenges: Space Traffic and Debris

With multiple companies eyeing satellite constellations, concerns are growing. More satellites mean more crowding, higher collision risks, and increased space debris. AI-powered data centres in orbit could accelerate these pressures. Regulators will eventually need to address how these systems fit into already congested orbital lanes.

Final Thoughts

AI compute is pushing the limits of Earth’s infrastructure, and space is emerging as the next big platform. The vision is bold: near-unlimited solar power, no cooling towers, and the ability to scale without geographical constraints. Whether this becomes a mainstream reality or remains an experimental frontier will depend on engineering breakthroughs, regulatory cooperation, and sustainable satellite management. But one thing’s clear — the future of AI may not just be in the cloud, but far above it.