The Next Space Race: Google Also Plans AI Data Centers in Orbit
The ever-increasing demand for AI technology requires more and more data centers. Now Google has also unveiled plans to send them into space.
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As part of “Project Suncatcher,” Google is now also working on relocating AI data centers into space to supply them with solar power around the clock. The US tech giant's research department announced this in a blog post and presented plans for an initial constellation of 81 satellites. These are to orbit the Earth a few hundred meters apart in a sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 650 km and perform AI calculations. The announcement is now the latest indication of the next big race into space, as Amazon and SpaceX have similar plans. However, there have long been warnings about the risks associated with the increasing number of satellites.
No Insurmountable Obstacles
As a justification for the plans, Travis Beals from Google points out in the text refers to the enormous potential associated with power generation in space. Solar panels there are up to eight times more productive than on Earth, and because solar energy is available almost continuously, the need for batteries decreases. Close constellations of dozens of satellites equipped with Google's Tensor processors could then jointly perform the calculations necessary for rapidly evolving AI technology. However, there are still some obstacles, such as the transmission speed of signals between satellites. In tests, however, speeds of 800 Gbit/s in both directions have already been achieved.
The blog post also refers to the launch costs, which at the current time still argue against the construction of such a constellation. However, Google assumes that in about ten years, it will only cost around 200 US dollars to launch one kilogram of payload into space. Only at these prices would the launch and operating expenses be comparable to those of a comparable data center on Earth. Radiation, on the other hand, is unlikely to be an obstacle; in tests, the technology only encountered problems after total doses for which it would have to remain in space three times longer than the planned five years.
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In 2027, Google wants to launch two prototypes to find out how the satellites function in space. It is already pointed out that space in Earth's orbit is not unlimited and that the implementation of existing plans already poses massive risks. This primarily concerns the dangers posed by collisions. Even a piece of space debris could cause countless fragments to be created, which, with their immense speeds, become a danger to further satellites. In the worst case, a chain reaction threatens, clearing entire orbits. So far, this has mainly been referred to in connection with with huge constellations for satellite internet, but decentralized data centers could soon be added.
(mho)
