在太空建设资料中心仍属相对早期，但随著能源与太空限制约束地球上大型运算设施的扩张，这一领域正逐渐获得关注与资金支持。今年早些时候，Elon Musk 的 SpaceX 和 Jeff Bezos 的 Blue Origin 都宣布了建造并发射轨道资料中心的计划。这些资料中心将作为由数千甚至数百万艘环绕地球运行的航天器组成的网络运作，并由来自太阳的持续能源供电。
卫星平台承载飞行控制、通讯，以及电力与热管理系统，并且必须承受高辐射和极端温度。太阳能阵列像翅膀一样从卫星平台向外延伸，以捕捉太阳能，而位于西雅图的公司 Starcloud 计划建造宽达 2.5 miles 的太阳能板。卫星在用电高峰或太阳能被遮挡时，例如日食期间，也将依赖电池。散热器会将热量以红外辐射的形式释放到太空的寒冷真空中，而轨道资料中心需要能处理比典型通讯或观测卫星散热器设计所能应付的热量高出许多个数量级的冷却系统。
轨道资料中心打算至少部分依靠无线电频率波在地球与太空之间接收和传送资料，但一些专家认为，要有效进行资料处理，可能需要基于雷射的通讯。光学雷射连结已被用于在卫星之间传送资料，并正被开发用于地面到太空的传输，而根据提交给联邦通讯委员会的文件，SpaceX 已在其 Starlink 网路内使用这些技术，并计划在其轨道资料中心中也采用同样做法。轨道资料中心单元将配备可耐辐射的 AI 晶片，这些晶片会在独立的记忆体单元中处理和储存资料，而 Nvidia Corp. 于 3 月宣布，将专门为太空运算制造 GPU 晶片。
Building data centers in space is still relatively nascent, but it is gaining traction and financial backing as energy and space constraints limit expansion of massive computing facilities on Earth. Earlier this year, Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin both announced plans to build and launch orbital data centers. These data centers would operate as networks of thousands, or even millions, of spacecraft circling the planet, powered by constant energy from the sun.
A satellite bus hosts flight control, communications, and power and thermal management systems, and must endure high radiation and extreme temperatures. Solar arrays extend like wings from the satellite bus to capture energy from the sun, and Starcloud, a Seattle-based company, plans to build solar panels that are 2.5 miles wide. Satellites will also rely on batteries for times of peak demand or when the sun’s energy is blocked, such as during an eclipse. Radiators will dissipate heat into the cold vacuum of space as infrared radiation, and orbital data centers will need cooling systems that can handle heat many orders of magnitude greater than what a typical communications or observation satellite radiator is designed to deal with.
Orbital data centers intend to rely at least partially on radio-frequency waves to receive and send data between Earth and space, but some experts argue that laser-based communications will likely be needed for effective data processing. Optical laser links are already used to send data between satellites and are being developed for ground-to-space transmission, and SpaceX already uses them within its Starlink network and plans to do the same for its orbital data center, according to a Federal Communications Commission filing. Orbital data center units will be equipped with radiation-tolerant AI chips that process and store data in a separate memory unit, and in March Nvidia Corp. announced it would manufacture GPU chips specifically for space-based computing. (Key numbers: 3)