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The US startup is preparing to take the first step towards building a data center in space by flying the 30,000 NVIDIA enterprise GPU, H100, into Earth orbit.
Redmond, Washington, startup StarCloud, formerly known as Lemon Orbit, is scheduled to launch a demo satellite carrying the H100 GPU sometime next month, according to Nvidia.
In a blog post, NVIDIA revealed that StarCloud plans to pack the H100 chip inside the StarCloud-1 satellite, which weighs about 130 pounds and is about the size of a small refrigerator. It promises to offer “100x more powerful GPU compute than any other space-based operation.”
(Credit: StarCloud/Nvidia)
Currently, data centers are built on land in large facilities. However, the growing demand for AI compute has raised concerns about the environmental toll of these facilities as the entire tech industry itches to build even larger, next-generation data centers that will consume gigawatts of electricity, enough to power entire cities.
Placing data centers in space can be a solution to energy requirements, as they can be fitted with solar panels and harness the sun’s energy. Space can also act as a heat sink by equipping orbiting data centers with “enhanced radiators,” ditching the need to rely on traditional liquid cooling. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is among the proponents of the approach.
(Credit: Starcloud)
“The only cost to the environment will be at launch, then 10x the carbon dioxide savings over the life of the data center compared to powering the data center terrestrially,” StarCloud CEO Philip Johnston told Nvidia.
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The startup also predicts that the space-based approach could reduce the energy costs of running a data center by 10 times, even when accounting for the required rocket launches. “For communication, we envision using laser-based communication with other constellations,” such as SpaceX’s satellite internet system StarLink or Amazon’s Project Cooper, Starcloud’s white paper added. Such laser connectivity would pave the way for users on Earth to easily communicate and run workloads with Starclide’s orbiting data centers.
Starcloud’s CEO also told YouTube channel Hyperchange that the company is preparing to fit the satellite on the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket for launch next month. The startup plans to launch a larger satellite next year. Starcloud-2 is designed to be the company’s first commercial satellite.
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About our expert
Michael Kahn
Senior reporter
Experience
I have been a journalist for over 15 years. I got my start as a schools and cities reporter in Kansas City and joined PCMag in 2017, where I cover satellite Internet services, cybersecurity, PC hardware and more. I am currently based in San Francisco, but previously spent over five years in China, covering the country’s technology sector.
Since 2020, I’ve covered the launch and explosive growth of SpaceX’s StarLink satellite Internet service, writing 600+ stories on availability and feature launches, but also regulatory battles over expansion of satellite constellations, battles with rival providers like AST SpaceMobile and Amazon, and efforts to expand satellite-based mobile service. I’ve combed through FCC filings for the latest news and reached out to remote corners of California to test StarLink’s cellular service.
I also cover cyber threats, from ransomware gangs to the emergence of AI-based malware. Earlier this year, the FTC forced Avast to pay $16.5 million for secretly harvesting and selling its personal information to third-party clients, as revealed in my joint Investigation Along with the motherboard
I also cover the PC graphics card market. Pandemic-era shortages led me to camp out in front of a Best Buy to get an RTX 3000. Now I’m following how President Trump’s tariffs will affect the industry. I’m always eager to learn more, so please jump into the comments with feedback and send me pointers.
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