The insatiable appetite of artificial intelligence for energy is pushing data infrastructure to its terrestrial limits. Now, a radical solution is gaining momentum: moving data centres into orbit. But this futuristic vision creates a clash with science.
The AI Boom's Earthly Burden
The artificial intelligence revolution runs on power—a staggering amount of it. Training and running large AI models require massive data centres packed with energy-hungry processors that generate immense heat. According to the International Energy Agency, data centres accounted for roughly 485 terawatt-hours of electricity in 2025, with AI-specific servers driving most of the growth. Projections show this demand could nearly double by 2030. This exponential rise in energy use, along with the vast quantities of water needed for cooling, is creating a sustainability crisis. Building new terrestrial data centres is hitting structural walls: a lack of available land, stressed power grids, and significant environmental footprints. This has forced the tech industry to look for solutions beyond our atmosphere.
A Radical Solution in Orbit
In response to Earth's constraints, a growing number of companies—from startups like Starcloud and OrbitsEdge to giants like Google—are developing space-based data centres. The concept involves launching servers into low-Earth orbit, creating 'server satellites' that can process data high above the planet. The idea is no longer science fiction; several firms have already launched demonstration missions or have launches planned for the coming years. Starcloud launched a satellite with a powerful Nvidia GPU, creating what it calls the world's first data centre for AI in space. The goal is to build constellations of these orbital data centres that can handle the massive computational workloads demanded by AI.
The Advantages of Computing in a Vacuum
Space offers compelling solutions to the biggest problems facing terrestrial data centres. In a sun-synchronous orbit, a satellite can remain in continuous sunlight, providing an uninterrupted and powerful energy source. Solar panels in orbit are also more efficient, generating significantly more power than their ground-based counterparts without atmospheric interference. Cooling, a massive energy expense on Earth, is passively achieved in space by radiating heat into the near-absolute zero of the void. This eliminates the need for water-intensive cooling systems. Furthermore, space offers nearly unlimited room for expansion without competing for land or facing local regulatory hurdles. For certain tasks, like processing data gathered by other satellites, it can also dramatically reduce latency by analysing information at the source.
A New Shadow Across the Stars
While promising for the tech industry, the prospect of tens of thousands of new satellites creates a nightmare for astronomy. The primary issue is light pollution. Even if they are too faint to be seen by the naked eye, sunlight reflecting off these satellites creates bright streaks across images taken by ground-based telescopes. These trails can ruin sensitive observations, particularly those taken during twilight hours, which are crucial for discovering near-Earth objects and other phenomena. A 2021 study noted that widefield surveys could see 30–50% of twilight observations seriously impacted. Beyond visible light, the radio communications from these satellite constellations create a cumulative electromagnetic noise that can blind sensitive radio telescopes, which are designed to detect the faintest signals from the cosmos.
Weighing Progress Against Preservation
This leads to a fundamental tradeoff: is accelerating AI development worth compromising our ability to observe the universe? For proponents of orbital computing, the move is a necessary step to sustain technological progress and reduce environmental strain on Earth. For astronomers, the deployment of tens of thousands of new, bright objects in low–Earth orbit represents an existential threat that could 'fundamentally change' their field. The International Astronomical Union (IAU) has warned that no combination of mitigations can fully prevent the negative impacts on science if proposed constellations are fully deployed. This isn't just about professional science; it also concerns the cultural heritage of a pristine night sky, accessible to all of humanity.
The Search for a Middle Ground
Recognising the conflict, stakeholders are searching for compromises. The IAU and other organisations have formed groups like the Center for the Protection of the Dark and Quiet Sky (CPS) to work with satellite operators. Potential mitigations include deploying satellites in lower orbits (below 600 km) so they fall into Earth's shadow for more of the night, using non–reflective, dark coatings, and designing them with sunshades. Another key area is improved data sharing, where satellite operators provide precise orbital information so astronomers can schedule observations to avoid pointing telescopes at known satellites. However even with these efforts, experts warn that some level of interference is unavoidable, and software to remove satellite trails from images can only do so much.
