Blue Origin To Challenge SpaceX In High-Stakes Data Center Race In Space

Looks like we have a new entrant to the orbital data center race: Blue Origin is formally challenging the likes of SpaceX and Axiom with plans for an initial constellation of tens of thousands of satellites.

Filing plans with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for Project Sunrise, Jeff Bezos’s space venture aims to deploy a not insignificant constellation of 51,600 satellites. Blue Origin believes that shifting to off-planet processing power will better support the voracious energy demands of artificial intelligence, especially when compared to terrestrial counterparts.

On Earth, AI workloads consume vast amounts of electricity and require complex cooling systems that can strain local infrastructures. In orbit, satellites can harvest unfiltered solar energy 24 hours a day and shed heat into the cold of space.

Project Sunrise intends to operate in sun-synchronous orbits between 500 and 1,800 kilometers above Earth. These ...