- Sam Altman describes current proposals for orbiting data centers as completely unrealistic for this decade
- Modern AI chips cannot survive space radiation, making orbital data centers currently unfeasible
- Radiation-resistant semiconductor nodes lag behind advanced manufacturing processes needed for AI workloads
Sam Altman has publicly rejected proposals to launch large-scale data centers into orbit, describing the idea as unrealistic under current technological and economic conditions.
The CEO of OpenAI argued that space computing infrastructure will not operate on a significant scale during this decade.
His comments come as the likes of Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos have spoken about the long-term potential of orbital facilities powered by abundant solar energy and free from terrestrial constraints.
Hardware not designed for space
Altman’s comments directly challenge that optimism and draw attention to the practical limitations such projects face.
“Honestly, I think the idea, in the current landscape, of putting data centers in space is ridiculous,” Sam Altman said at a press conference hosted by The Indian Express.
“It will make sense one day, but if you just do the rough calculations of launch costs relative to the cost of energy we can produce on Earth, not to mention how you’re going to fix a broken GPU in space, and they still break down a lot, unfortunately, we’re not there yet.”
Modern AI accelerators and high-performance processors are manufactured using advanced manufacturing nodes, such as 4nm-class process technologies.
These next-generation chips are not radiation hardened and therefore cannot withstand the harsh conditions of space.
Radiation-resistant semiconductor technologies exist, although they rely on much older manufacturing nodes that lack the performance needed for today’s large AI workloads.
Before on-orbit facilities can handle significant computational demand, new manufacturing approaches would have to combine advanced performance with radiation tolerance.
Beyond processing hardware, orbital data centers would require reliable power generation and cooling systems capable of sustaining millions of accelerators.
Launch providers like SpaceX and Blue Origin are developing reusable rockets and space infrastructure, but the supporting ecosystem for operating massive computing facilities in orbit remains incomplete.
Terrestrial data centers already rely on complex arrangements involving power grids, cooling systems, SSD arrays, HDD backups, and cloud storage integration, all of which would require adaptation to space environments.
Cost remains a central barrier to orbital deployment. Launching 800 kg into low Earth orbit can cost several million dollars using current commercial rockets.
A single Nvidia NVL72 GB200 rack-scale solution weighs more than one metric ton without additional cooling or connectivity systems.
Putting such infrastructure into orbit would multiply launch requirements and associated expenses.
Even if launch prices decrease for larger payloads, the cumulative cost of transporting and assembling large-scale facilities would remain high under current conditions.
Altman has acknowledged that space will eventually support certain industries, although he maintains that orbiting data centers do not appear viable at scale this decade.
Through Tom Hardware
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