Amazon Web Services CEO Matt Garman dismissed the feasibility of space-based data centers at the Cisco AI Summit in San Francisco on Tuesday, citing the weight of server racks and the lack of permanent space structures as key barriers.
Garman addressed the concept during an interview at the event, responding to questions about placing AI data centers in space or on other planets. He highlighted transportation challenges as a primary obstacle. Amazon operates more than 900 data centers worldwide, and Garman stated they will remain on Earth for the foreseeable future. Server racks, essential components of these facilities, weigh heavily, complicating launch efforts. Garman remarked, “I don’t know if you’ve seen a rack of servers lately: They’re heavy.” He added, “And last I checked, humanity has yet to build a permanent structure in space. So … maybe.” These points underscore the practical difficulties despite potential advantages, such as direct solar energy capture and cooling from space’s cold environment.
Garman’s statements followed Elon Musk’s announcement of a merger between SpaceX and xAI one day earlier. The deal values the combined companies at $1.25 billion. Musk detailed the strategic rationale in a blog post published Monday. He wrote, “The capabilities we unlock by making space-based data centers a reality will fund and enable self-growing bases on the Moon, an entire civilization on Mars, and ultimately expansion to the Universe.” This merger positions the companies to pursue ambitious space infrastructure goals, integrating rocket technology with AI computing needs.
Contemporary AI data centers that support services like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and xAI’s Grok occupy vast areas, often spanning millions of square feet. These facilities house extensive hardware arrays, requiring construction on reinforced concrete slabs to bear the immense loads. Such scale demands robust terrestrial foundations, amplifying the engineering hurdles for orbital deployment.
SpaceX has demonstrated launch capabilities through thousands of Starlink satellites placed in orbit using Falcon rockets. These internet-beaming satellites form a growing constellation. Musk outlined plans to escalate this with the Starship rocket, targeting up to 1 million satellites. This figure surpasses the total number of objects ever launched into space throughout history. The intensive launch cadence, described as a blizzard of deployments, will refine SpaceX’s rocket performance incrementally.
Musk asserted that these repeated launches would enhance rocket efficiency sufficiently to enable space-based data centers. He made this claim in the Monday blog post without specifying a timeline for achievement. Improvements in areas like fuel efficiency and other propulsion elements could reduce per-launch expenses over time.
Amazon counters SpaceX’s dominance with its own satellite initiative, Project Leo, designed as a competing internet constellation. The company allocated $10 billion for development, as reported by CNBC. Deployment has proceeded deliberately, prompting Amazon to request a timeline extension from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission for launching 1,600 Leo satellites.
During his Tuesday remarks, Garman directly referenced Musk’s 1-million-satellite ambition. He recognized prospective cost reductions from fuel optimizations and related advancements. Nevertheless, Garman emphasized that current transportation expenses constitute a major bottleneck, sustaining Earth-bound operations as the practical choice.
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