Jeff Bezos says gigawatt-scale space data centers will orbit Earth within two decades, but launching just the solar panels alone could cost more than building Amazon’s entire Seattle headquarters complex.
The Blue Origin founder told an audience at Italian Tech Week in Turin last Friday that space-based facilities would solve artificial intelligence’s (AI) growing energy crisis. Current estimates show a single orbital data center would need at least $25 billion just to launch its power systems.
“We’re going to start building these giant gigawatt data centers in space,” Bezos said during his conversation with Ferrari chairman John Elkann. “These giant training clusters, those will be better built in space, because we have solar power there, 24/7. There are no clouds and no rain, no weather.”
Building a one-gigawatt facility requires between 9,000 and 11,250 metric tons of solar panels. Launch costs today run about $1,520 per kilogram.
That means launching panels alone would cost up to $17.1 billion. Add radiators for cooling, server equipment, and structural support, and the total launch bill could exceed $50 billion per facility.
Tom’s Hardware calculated that such a project would need at least 150 rocket launches just for the solar arrays. Each failed launch adds millions more to an already astronomical budget.
Data centers now use massive amounts of electricity and water. By 2028, these facilities are expected to consume 12 percent of America’s power. Additionally, AI facilities use hundreds of billions of liters of water annually for cooling.
Space offers round-the-clock solar power, free of weather interruptions. Temperatures drop to minus 270 degrees Celsius in shadow, providing natural cooling.
Several companies are already testing the concept. Lonestar Data Holdings landed a book-sized data center on the moon this year, though the lander tipped over. Axiom Space plans to launch its first orbital nodes soon.
Ali Hajimiri, an electrical engineer at Caltech’s Space Solar Power Project, sees potential but remains cautious about timing.
“I never want to say something cannot be done,” Hajimiri told WIRED. “But there are challenges associated with it.” He noted that space radiation constantly bombards equipment, and “obsolescence would be a problem” since repairs require new rocket launches.
The vision extends beyond just moving servers skyward. Bezos described it as part of humanity’s expansion into space, where millions might live “in the next couple of decades.”
“We will be able to beat the cost of terrestrial data centers in space in the next couple of decades,” Bezos claimed.
For now, Virginia’s Data Center Valley remains cheaper than low Earth orbit. Until launch costs drop dramatically or Earth-based options become impossible, profit-driven companies will likely keep their servers grounded.
The next New Glenn rocket launch, scheduled for late October or early November, will carry NASA satellites to Mars. Whether it eventually carries data centers remains a multi-billion-dollar question.