- Sam Altman describes current proposals for on-orbit 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 required for AI workloads
Sam Altman has publicly rejected proposals to place large-scale data centers in orbit, calling the idea unrealistic under current technological and economic conditions.
The CEO of OpenAI argued that space computing infrastructure will not operate on a significant scale this decade.
His comments come as Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos have discussed the long-term potential of orbital facilities powered by abundant solar energy and freed from terrestrial constraints.
Equipment not designed for space
Altman’s remarks directly challenge this optimism and draw attention to the practical limitations facing such projects.
“I honestly think the idea in today’s 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 very rough calculation of launch costs versus the cost of energy we can produce on Earth, let alone how you’re going to fix a broken GPU in space, and they still break 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 cutting-edge 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 required for today’s large AI workloads.
Before on-orbit facilities can meet significant computing demand, new manufacturing approaches would need to combine advanced performance and radiation tolerance.
Beyond processing hardware, orbital data centers would require cooling systems and reliable power generation capable of powering millions of accelerators.
Launch providers such as 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, hard drive backups and cloud storage integration, all of which would require adaptation to space environments.
Cost remains a major obstacle to orbital deployment. Launching 800 kg into low Earth orbit can cost several million dollars with current commercial rockets.
A single Nvidia NVL72 GB200 rack-mount solution weighs well over a ton without additional cooling or connectivity systems.
Putting such an infrastructure into orbit would multiply launch requirements and associated expenses.
Even if launch prices drop for larger payloads, the cumulative cost of transporting and assembling large-scale installations would remain high under current conditions.
Altman acknowledged that space will eventually support some industries, although he maintains that orbiting data centers don’t appear viable on a large scale this decade.
Via Tom’s material
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