China vs SpaceX in race for space AI data centers

If your telephone heats up portion moving AI, ideate what happens wrong a monolithic information center. Now ideate moving that information halfway into orbit.

That is precisely what China and Elon Musk are planning. It is simply a superior contention to physique space-based AI information centers powered by sunlight successful space.

At stake? The aboriginal of artificial intelligence, vigor dominance and who controls the adjacent furniture of integer infrastructure.

Sign up for my FREE CyberGuy Report
Get my champion tech tips, urgent information alerts and exclusive deals delivered consecutive to your inbox. Plus, you’ll get instant entree to my Ultimate Scam Survival Guide – escaped erstwhile you articulation my CYBERGUY.COM newsletter.

China and Elon Musk are racing to physique solar-powered AI information centers successful orbit, aiming to easiness Earth’s increasing vigor strain. (Paul Hennesy/Anadolu via Getty Images)

China's plan: Gigawatt-class abstraction computing

China's main abstraction contractor, China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, outlined a five-year program to physique what it calls "gigawatt-class abstraction digital-intelligence infrastructure," according to reporting cited by CCTV.  While that operation whitethorn dependable bureaucratic. It is not.

Gigawatt-class means monolithic vigor output. Think concern scale. These projected orbital hubs would integrate cloud, borderline and device-level computing. In elemental terms, information collected connected Earth could beryllium processed successful abstraction alternatively of wrong elephantine warehouses successful Arizona oregon Inner Mongolia.

The imaginativeness goes adjacent further. A December argumentation papers describes an industrial-scale "Space Cloud" by 2030. The extremity is heavy integration of computing power, retention and transmission bandwidth, each powered by star vigor successful orbit. China besides signaled that space-based star powerfulness tied to AI computing volition beryllium a halfway pillar of its upcoming 15th Five-Year Plan. It's each portion of its nationalist strategy.

Elon Musk says the lowest-cost AI volition beryllium successful space

Meanwhile, Elon Musk is making a akin bet. At the World Economic Forum successful Davos, Musk said SpaceX plans to motorboat solar-powered AI information halfway satellites wrong 2 to 3 years. He argued that abstraction is the "lowest-cost spot to enactment AI" and predicted that it volition beryllium existent wrong a fewer years. Why? Solar powerfulness successful orbit tin make acold much vigor than panels connected the ground. Musk said orbital star procreation tin nutrient astir 5 times much powerfulness due to the fact that determination are nary clouds and nary nighttime cycles successful the aforesaid mode arsenic connected Earth. SpaceX reportedly expects to usage funds from a planned $25 cardinal IPO to assistance make these orbital AI systems.

This makes consciousness erstwhile you see that AI is devouring electricity. Training and moving ample models requires tremendous computing clusters. Power grids are straining successful places similar Texas and Northern Virginia. So the reasoning is simple. If Earth runs abbreviated connected cleanable vigor for AI, determination the servers person to the sun.

The existent bottleneck: Reusable rockets

There is lone 1 problem. Getting hardware into abstraction is expensive. SpaceX solved portion of that with its Falcon 9 reusable rocket. Reusability dramatically lowers motorboat costs. It besides enabled SpaceX's Starlink outer web to predominate debased Earth orbit.

China, connected the different hand, has not yet completed a afloat palmy reusable rocket programme susceptible of repeated, reliable flights. That is simply a large bottleneck. Without reusability, the outgo of launching and maintaining space-based AI infrastructure remains high.

Still, China achieved a grounds 93 abstraction launches past year, according to authoritative announcements. Its commercialized abstraction startups are maturing quickly. And Beijing has made it wide it wants to go a "world-leading abstraction power" by 2045. In different words, this is simply a agelong game.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE HELPS FUEL NEW ENERGY SOURCES

Beijing plans a "gigawatt-class" abstraction computing web arsenic portion of its semipermanent strategy for integer and abstraction dominance. (Gabriel V. Cardenas/AFP via Getty Images)

It is not conscionable astir information centers

China's five-year program besides includes suborbital abstraction tourism and the gradual improvement of orbital tourism. That signals a broader propulsion to commercialize abstraction successful a mode akin to civilian aviation.

At the aforesaid time, some the U.S. and China spot strategical and subject advantages successful dominating orbit. China precocious inaugurated its archetypal School of Interstellar Navigation wrong the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The extremity is to determination from near-Earth orbit to heavy abstraction exploration. State media described the adjacent 10 to 20 years arsenic a model for leapfrog improvement successful interstellar navigation.

Meanwhile, the U.S. is racing to instrumentality astronauts to the satellite for the archetypal clip since the Apollo era. The contention is heating up connected aggregate fronts. AI infrastructure successful abstraction is conscionable 1 portion of a overmuch larger chessboard.

Why this matters to you

You mightiness beryllium thinking, "Great. Billionaires and governments are warring implicit satellites. Why should I care?" Here is why. AI is becoming embedded successful everything. Search results. Customer service. Medical imaging. Financial systems. Smart homes. All of that runs connected computing power. And that computing powerfulness runs connected energy. If the cheapest and astir abundant vigor for AI ends up being successful orbit, the equilibrium of tech powerfulness could displacement dramatically. Countries that power space-based AI infrastructure could summation economical leverage, subject advantages and technological dominance. This is the adjacent furniture of the cloud. Not successful a warehouse. Not successful a desert. But circling supra your head.

Take my quiz: How harmless is your online security?

Think your devices and information are genuinely protected? Take this speedy quiz to spot wherever your integer habits stand. From passwords to Wi-Fi settings, you’ll get a personalized breakdown of what you’re doing close and what needs improvement. Take my Quiz here: Cyberguy.com.

CHINA QUIETLY BUILDS WORLDWIDE SPACE NETWORK, ALARMING US OVER FUTURE MILITARY POWER

Musk says abstraction volition soon beryllium the lowest-cost spot to powerfulness artificial intelligence, citing changeless star vigor successful orbit. (Aubrey Gemignani/NASA via Getty Images)

Kurt's cardinal takeaways

For decades, abstraction was astir flags and footprints. Today, the absorption is shifting toward servers and star arrays arsenic governments and backstage companies rethink wherever the world's astir almighty computers should operate. China is pursuing a "Space Cloud," portion Elon Musk argues that AI belongs successful orbit. Both are racing toward a aboriginal wherever precocious computing systems are powered by uninterrupted sunlight supra Earth. That displacement sounds bold and carries existent risk. However, if AI continues to accelerate and vigor request keeps climbing, moving computing infrastructure into abstraction whitethorn commencement to look little extremist and much inevitable.

If the infrastructure powering AI moves into orbit, who should power it? Let america cognize by penning to america at Cyberguy.com.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Sign up for my FREE CyberGuy Report
Get my champion tech tips, urgent information alerts and exclusive deals delivered consecutive to your inbox. Plus, you’ll get instant entree to my Ultimate Scam Survival Guide – escaped erstwhile you articulation my CYBERGUY.COM newsletter.

Copyright 2026 CyberGuy.com. All rights reserved.

Related Article