#space-data-centers

#space-data-centers

There are, however, a couple of reasons why data centers in space are being considered. There are plenty of reports about how the increased amount of AI processing is affecting power consumption within data centers; the World Economic Forum has estimated that the power required to handle AI is increasing at a rate of between 26% and 36% annually. Therefore, it is not surprising that organizations are looking at other options.

For one thing, the systems he imagines process data relatively slowly compared to those on terra firma. They'd be constantly bombarded by radiation, and "obsolescence would be a problem" because making repairs or upgrades would be confoundingly difficult. Hajimiri believes that data centers in space could, someday, be a viable solution but hesitates to say when that day might come. "Definitely it would be doable in a few years," he said. "The question is how effective they would be, and how cost-effective they would become."