Tag: orbital-data-centers
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A Million Satellites Could Create a Visible Ring Around Earth
Will Orbital Data Centers Create a Permanent Artificial Ring Around Earth? More than a million data center satellites and 50,000 space mirrors, if launched as currently proposed, would concentrate into a single orbital plane visible as a luminous band spanning the entire sky — brighter than any star or planet, and according to researchers, potentially…
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How hard is it to build orbital data centers, actually?
Editor’s note: This is the second of three feature articles Ars is publishing to explore the financial, technical, and competitive dimensions of orbital data centers. Although the idea of putting data centers into space has long been discussed on a theoretical basis, the technology has rapidly become a red-hot topic. This series attempts to ground-truth…
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Symphony Space Unveils Orbital Data Center Platform With Upgradeable AI Hardware
Virginia-based startup Symphony Space has unveiled a new orbital data center platform designed to support artificial intelligence workloads in space, expanding its ambitions beyond hosted payload services and into the rapidly emerging market for space-based computing infrastructure. The new platform, known as Adagio-XL, builds on the company’s previously announced Adagio hosted payload satellite and is…
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Orbital Raises $5 Million to Develop Distributed Space-Based AI Data Center Network
Los Angeles-based startup Orbital has raised $5 million in a pre-seed funding round to support the development of a space-based computing network aimed at providing artificial intelligence processing capabilities from orbit. The funding round was led by Speedrun, the startup accelerator operated by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), and included participation from a broad group of venture…
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SpaceX Unveils AI1 Orbital Computing Satellite Ahead of Planned IPO
SpaceX has revealed plans for a new satellite designed to function as a data center in orbit, marking a significant expansion beyond the company’s traditional focus on communications and launch services. The spacecraft, called AI1, is intended to serve as the first generation of a future constellation of computing satellites capable of processing artificial intelligence…
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Vast Expands Into Satellite Bus Market With High-Power Spacecraft Platform
Vast said it will enter the satellite bus market with a new high-power spacecraft platform aimed at commercial, Earth observation and national security missions. The company announced plans to offer a 15-kilowatt-class satellite bus designed for high-volume and lower-cost deployment across a range of orbital applications. Vast also said customers will have the option to…
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Edge Aerospace Wins ESA Contract to Study Orbital Data Centers
Luxembourg-based startup Edge Aerospace has secured a contract under the European Space Agency’s Space Cloud program to examine the feasibility of orbital data centers, as Europe explores new approaches to in-space computing. Under the agreement, Edge Aerospace will develop an architectural framework and use-case roadmap for orbital computing platforms. The study will evaluate the commercial…
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Investors Eye Orbital Data Center Downstream Markets Despite Tech Delays
What Downstream Markets Are Investors Targeting Before Orbital Data Centers Launch? Venture capitalists are already funding companies that could capitalize on orbital data centers, even though SpaceX and other major players won’t deploy the massive computing networks for several years. Investment firms are targeting edge computing applications, quantum-resistant encryption services, and real-time satellite data processing…
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Phantom Space Acquires Thermal Tech for Orbital Data Centers
Can Phantom Space Compete in the Orbital Data Center Arms Race? Phantom Space has acquired a thermal management technology company to complete its vertically integrated approach to orbital data centers, positioning the Tucson-based startup to compete against established players in a market projected to reach $2.1 billion by 2030. The acquisition gives Phantom Space the…
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Orbital data centers, part 1: There’s no way this is economically viable, right?
Editor’s note: This is the first of three feature articles Ars is publishing to explore the financial, technical, and competitive dimensions of orbital data centers. Although the idea of putting data centers into space has long been discussed on a theoretical basis, the technology has rapidly become a red-hot topic. This series will attempt to…