
Data centers today face numerous challenges: they consume enormous quantities of energy and space, incur high costs, and find it difficult to meet the demanding resource needs of next-generation artificial intelligence (AI).
However, Lumen Orbit, a company backed by Nvidia and Y Combinator, proposes an innovative and extraordinary solution: relocating data centers to space. This firm recently completed a seed funding round exceeding $10 million, which was notably oversubscribed. They believe this approach could significantly alleviate the energy constraints on Earth, facilitate quick deployment and expansion, and lower operating costs by a factor of 20.
The company’s goal is to launch its prototype satellite in May 2025, equipped with GPUs that are 100 times more powerful than any previously operated in space.
They assert, “We are convinced that orbital data centers are feasible, economically viable, and necessary to realize the potential of AI, the most important technology of the 21st century, in a rapid and sustainable manner,” as highlighted in a published document.
Research indicates that multi-gigawatt (GW) clusters will be essential as early as 2027 for the training of large language models (LLMs). However, Lumen Orbit highlighted in its whitepaper that terrestrial data centers do not scale sustainably or effectively to gigawatt sizes. Current infrastructures usually peak at 100 megawatts (MW), with some targeting 1GW.
In the United States, terrestrial solar farms have a median capacity factor — representing the power they generate relative to their maximum potential output — of only 24%. In temperate areas, solar initiatives often produce less than 10% of their maximum potential.
Additionally, in Western nations, the completion of new large-scale projects often extends over a decade due to numerous permit, restriction, rights of way, and environmental factors.
“The major issue that should alarm leaders in the tech industry is our struggle to build,” remarked Josh Smith, energy policy lead at The Abundance Institute. “Achieving a cleaner future will only be feasible if we hasten our efforts.”
As Lumen gazes into the vastness of space, the company has unveiled a series of concept designs, stating that it has yet to encounter any major challenges.
According to the company, “Orbital data centers open the door to next-generation clusters that far surpass anything currently available on our planet, boasting power generation capabilities reaching the GW range.” They further emphasized that “space-grade data centers will appeal to organizations focused on training exceptionally large AI models, potentially outpacing those developed in traditional terrestrial data centers.”
Lumen Orbit highlighted that these orbital data centers would operate using “abundant solar energy, without the need for batteries,” taking advantage of continuous solar power and passive cooling that is unaffected by the day/night cycle or varying weather conditions.
This approach allows for “significantly reduced marginal energy costs,” as noted by the company. For example, operating a single 40MW cluster in space for a decade would result in an estimated cost of $8.2 million, which breaks down to $5 million for launch, $2 million for the solar array, and $1.2 million for shielding needed per kilowatt of computing power, in addition to a $30 per kilogram launch cost.
A terrestrial data center is estimated to incur a total expenditure of $167 million over a decade. This figure accounts for various factors such as hardware, cooling, water consumption, and backup power systems. In comparison, this cost is about 20 times greater than that of a data center in orbit.
A significant financial factor to keep in mind is the expense associated with launching satellites. However, Lumen Orbit has highlighted that the costs are decreasing due to the emergence of new, reusable, and cost-efficient heavy-lift launch vehicles. The company emphasized that the current landscape of in-orbit networking makes this a perfect time to seize this opportunity.
According to Lumen Orbit, the majority of an orbital data center will feature solar arrays, measuring approximately 4 kilometers by 4 kilometers. These solar arrays will consist of thin film cells that incorporate silicon wafers and cooling systems. The company also underscored the necessity for orbital data centers to be modular, allowing for components to be docked and undocked independently, thus enabling continuous evolution as needed.
Moreover, it mentioned several other critical design factors to consider:
“They can be expanded almost infinitely without the physical limitations or permitting issues encountered on Earth,” Lumen stated.
It is evident that the orbital position is a crucial aspect; considerations such as space debris, radiation, aerodynamic resistance, and the accessibility and delay of networks need to be evaluated. Most importantly, the data center must receive uninterrupted sunlight for solar power harvesting. This necessitates a “low-Earth, dawn-dusk sun-synchronous orbit,” as per the company’s specifications. The platform would remain approximately aligned with the sun throughout the year, ensuring the spacecraft is in “near-continuous solar illumination.”
It’s worth mentioning that Lumen Orbit is not the first organization to suggest the concept of data centers in outer space. Lonestar Data Holdings aims to establish data centers on the lunar surface, with other notable entities such as Axiom Space, Kepler Space, and Skyloom also in the mix. Additionally, NTT is collaborating with SKY Perfect JSAT to create a satellite networking framework.
Conversely, there are those taking the opposite approach: Microsoft has conducted trials with data centers situated beneath the ocean; companies like Subsea Cloud and Beijing Highlander Digital Technology have also investigated this avenue.
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