Can Blue Origin Launch Data Centres in Space Amid AI Boom?

It’s one small step for man, one giant leap for… data centres?

For centuries, humans have always looked up to the sky and wondered about the possibilities, from putting the first man on the moon to developing Mars into a human settlement. 

More recently, a new speculation has been gaining traction: can data centres operate in orbit with the help of Jeff Bezo’s Blue Origin? 

A new mission in space

Speaking at this year's Italian Tech Week, Jeff Bezos proposed a future where data centres launch into space with the development of orbital computing infrastructure. 

Bezos believes that this technological advancement could be operating in space within two decades, utilising continuous solar power.

Space could offer an ideal environment for data centres, due to there being plenty of space, permanent sunlight, no chance of weather disruptions and – in theory – unlimited power generation.

Moreover, cooling and energy supplies are less restricted, which Jeff believes means training clusters will be better hosted away from Earth's constraints.

Speaking at Italian Tech Week in October, in conversation with John Elkann, Ferrari and Stellantis Chairman, Jeff Bezos said: "These giant training clusters will be better built in space, because we have solar power there, 24/7. There are no clouds and no rain, no weather. 

"We will be able to beat the cost of terrestrial data centres in space in the next couple of decades."

Moving away from Earth’s environment and cost

The push for data centres to take up residence in space comes from the energy demands of AI, notably in the GPU clusters used for large-scale models. 

As it stands, data centres are constantly utilising and consuming large amounts of electricity and water. But building data centre infrastructure in space provides a potential solution for the increased sustainability concerns.

Bezos expects that, if you were to compare, the cost of operating space-based systems could, in time, undercut the comparative cost on Earth. 

Anticipating potential difficulties

But just like any innovative vision, there are some difficulties which raise questions. At present, humans are unable to visit space readily and quickly, so how easy will it be to maintain data centres in orbit?

Potential hardware failures, updates and robotic servicing rely on human interaction and, as a result, might be costly and time-consuming. The risk of small malfunctions could create a massive impact on the large-scale systems. 

Every repair and launch would require complex rocket missions, strategy and an extremely large bank account.

Critics might argue that data centres in space are unrealistic, because the logistics of sustaining critical computing infrastructure in an environment which is 100km above Earth's surface level are impractical. 

However, Jeff Bezos' predictions then raise the question: can his company Blue Origin utilise its rockets and technologies as initiators of this project? As it stands, Blue Origin still needs to demonstrate the reliability and capacity for constant orbital construction.

Such a large-scale project would be dependent on both reusable rockets and highlight autonomous systems, which are capable of managing thermal regulation and communications between Earth, the rockets and the orbiting clusters. 

During Italian Tech Week Jeff Bezos stated that the current AI growth is comparable to the dot-com era, implying that regardless of the risk of speculative “bubbles”, the impact of AI on society will be profound and long-lasting.

Humankind should look towards the future of data centres in space with both optimism and caution, making small steps to develop innovative ideas into a technical reality.