CNN By Chris Isidore 2/4/2026
Elon Musk believes the best way to solve the difficulties of building AI data centers on earth is to move them into outer space. His merger this week of his rocket company SpaceX with his artificial intelligence company xAI could help get them there.
And he isn’t the only one thinking that way.
“The only logical solution…is to transport these resource-intensive efforts to a location with vast power and space. I mean space is called ‘space’ for a reason,’” Musk wrote Monday when announcing the merger.
Musk has successfully launched ambitious projects before, like developing mass market electric vehicles and creating reusable rocket engines to carry people and cargo into space. This time, Google, OpenAI and others are also looking to create data centers in space
AI data centers’ huge demand for both power and water means growing AI technology will require alternatives.
“We are tending to exceed the ability to generate the power (needed),” said David Bader, distinguished professor of data science at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. “I think it is a necessity for looking not on terrestrial ground but looking to space to provide some of these solutions.”
Space offers better access to solar energy, and the environment also keeps the tech cool and bypasses the need for land.
“There are clearly technical challenges to making this a viable endeavor, but these seem to be engineering constraints as opposed to physics,” said a Deutsche Bank Research analyst note on orbital AI data centers last month, noting that many companies were exploring ways to make it work.
More:
https://www.cnn.com/2026/02/04/business/elon-musk-orbiting-ai-data-center-plans
