This week, Google announced plans to send its AI chips into space aboard a solar-powered satellite in 2027.
Technology companies are exploring the idea of building data centers in space and harnessing solar energy to meet energy demands in the intense artificial intelligence (AI) race. Google’s plan, if implemented, would essentially create space-based data centers.
Google this week announced plans to launch its AI chips into space on solar-powered satellites by 2027. If implemented, the project would essentially create data centers in space.
According to The Verge, Google hopes that by doing so, it can continuously tap into solar energy.
Utilizing this virtually limitless clean energy source could allow the company to pursue its AI ambitions without the environmental concerns faced by earth-based data centers, such as power plant emissions and rising electricity costs due to surging energy demand.
Earlier, on November 2, the U.S. startup Starcloud launched a satellite carrying an NVIDIA graphics processor into orbit. According to Fox News, Starcloud aims to test space-based data centers to reduce pollution, save resources, and accelerate computing speeds. The company plans to build larger space data centers powered by sunlight and cooled naturally by orbital cold temperatures.
“The only environmental impact comes from the launch. After that, we could reduce carbon emissions by ten times compared to operating Earth-based data centers,” emphasized Philip Johnston, CEO of Starcloud.
As rocket launch costs continue to decrease, building data centers off-planet may soon become feasible. Johnston believes that by the 2030s, many new data centers will operate in orbit rather than on land.
Similarly, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos predicted earlier this month that gigawatt-scale data centers will be built in space within the next 10–20 years. Additionally, billionaire Elon Musk recently stated that his startup SpaceX could deploy orbital data centers as early as 2026 thanks to the Starlink satellite program.
(Source: nld.com.vn)