"The economics are poor today, but it's going to improve over time. As you know, the way that space works is radically different than how it works down here. There's an abundance of energy. But solar panels are large, but there's plenty of space in space."
"Data centers are increasingly becoming a political football back on earth, fueling some of the push to look toward space. AI and tech companies are facing pressure to reduce the vast number of resources they draw on to power and cool data centers, or to simply build the supplies themselves."
"I honestly think the idea with the current landscape of putting data centers in space is ridiculous. Tech leaders have also bristled at the sometimes lengthy approval process needed for their power plans. For example, licensing a nuclear reactor can take years."
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang acknowledges that orbital data centers currently have unfavorable economics but expects improvement over time. This contrasts with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's dismissal of space-based data centers as impractical. Huang highlights advantages of space infrastructure, including abundant energy and unlimited physical space for solar panels. Terrestrial data centers face mounting pressure from resource consumption, cooling requirements, and regulatory delays. Tech companies struggle with lengthy approval processes for power infrastructure, particularly nuclear reactors. Major firms including Meta, Microsoft, and Amazon pursue nuclear power deals, while some companies develop on-site power generation despite clean energy commitments.
#orbital-data-centers #ai-infrastructure-economics #space-based-computing #data-center-power-challenges #nuclear-energy-adoption
Read at Business Insider
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