Orbital data centres can complement terrestrial data centres – but there are challenges to overcome

There is growing interest in orbital data centres (ODCs) following many recent announcements by prominent entrepreneurs on their intentions to enter this market.

• Eric Schmidt (former CEO of Google) aims to launch ODCs in space via his new company Relativity Space.
• Jeff Bezos (former CEO of Amazon) plans to launch ODCs via his Blue Origin launchers.
• Sam Altman (CEO of OpenAI) is reportedly talking with rocket manufacturer Stoke Space with a view to OpenAI owning its own ODC launch capability.
• Elon Musk (CEO of SpaceX), through SpaceX, filed with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for a constellation of up to 1 million ODCs.

Most of these players plan to send data centres to orbit based on the perceived need for an alternative to terrestrial data centres that can address challenges related to land use, power consumption, resiliency and security. The truth is, ODCs will not replace ground-based ones anytime soon – but they do have an important role to play.