Companies propose launching orbital data centers to power AI

Nature reports companies including SpaceX, Google and Blue Origin have proposed launching constellations of satellites to act as “orbital data centers” for AI workloads.

• Main announcement / action: Companies (notably SpaceX, Google, Blue Origin, and China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation) have proposed launching constellations of satellites to serve as orbital data centers; SpaceX publicly shared plans in January 2026 to launch one million satellites (compared with roughly 15,000 satellites currently in low Earth orbit). Earlier milestones cited include a Starcloud white paper (Sept 2024) arguing orbital data centers are “feasible, economically viable, and necessary to realize the potential of AI”, and Google’s Suncatcher project (Nov 2025) to “one day scale machine learning compute in space”; Blue Origin has filed for its own constellation.
• Background, context and concrete details: The US Ratepayer Protection Pledge (released March 2026) was signed by firms including Google, OpenAI and xAI, committing them to build infrastructure for or buy power their data centers need; a Michigan township board of trustees instituted a one-year moratorium on water delivery to hyperscale data centers while it studies an application. Engineers cite key technical hurdles such as heat rejection/cooling in vacuum (radiators on the ISS exist but are likely too heavy and expensive to launch, per Igor Bargatin) and challenges with launch approvals and constellation deployment timelines.