AWS CEO throws cold water on AI data centers in space
AWS CEO Matt Garman said orbital data centers are "highly unlikely" to become "economically feasible or practical in the next decade or two."
Amazon Web Services (AWS) CEO Matt Garman has expressed doubt about the feasibility of AI data centers in space. Speaking on the Sources Podcast, Garman said that space-based data centers are "highly unlikely to be economically feasible or practical in the next decade or two" due to factors such as expensive rocket launches, heat management, radiation, and server costs.
He acknowledged that these challenges are technically solvable, but added that it will take some time. The idea of orbital data centers has been championed by Elon Musk, who aims to build a constellation of a million satellites that could act as data centers. Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon and Blue Origin, has also expressed optimism about the potential of space-based data centers, though he acknowledged that the timeline could be longer than some expect.
Garman highlighted the difficulty of dissipating heat in the harsh environment of space and the high costs of building servers in orbit. He also questioned the practicality of underwater data centers, suggesting that deserts might be a more realistic option due to their relatively good environmental conditions, heat sinks, and solar resources.
However, he cautioned that building data centers away from communities could mean that towns miss out on the economic benefits they bring.
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