Military Eyes AI, Cloud Computing in Space in a Decade
Physics keeps the Pentagon from orbiting a computer powerful enough for machine learning. So they’re building a network in space.
By Patrick Tucker
Technology Editor
January 27, 2021
Machine learning in space may one day revolutionize how the U.S. military tracks enemy forces and moves data around the world. But physics makes training an AI far harder in orbit than on Earth, so that dream is likely a decade away, the director of the Pentagon’s lead satellite agency said Wednesday.
Computers get smaller and more powerful every year, but there are physical limits to what you can do in a small, airtight box, said Derek Tournear, who leads the Space Development Agency.
“On the ground, I can tie myself to a hydroelectric dam and a river to cool my processing center. But in space, you’re always going to be limited by how much heat you can dump and power you can collect,†Tournear said Wednesday during a Defense One webinar.
https://www.defenseone.com/technology/2021/01/military-eyes-ai-cloud-computing-space-decade/171692/
