NASA chief proposes moving AI data centres into space

CALGARY — NASA's chief administrator has proposed that AI data centres be moved into orbit amid the ongoing controversy surrounding construction of the facilities. Jared Isaacman, has said the idea would kill two birds with one stone, as it would free up land on Earth previously slated for data centre use, and it would also take advantage of the "free fusion reactor" in space."Let’s take our data centres, put them in Earth orbit, take advantage of that free fusion reactor that’s out there for us, and use that to ensure we do win the space race for sure, but the AI race, too," Isaacman said in an interview with Nexstar DC.Isaacman has suggested this idea as hostility to the building of data centres continues to grow.Recent polls have shown Canadians and Americans pretty unanimous in their dislike for building data centres, with polling showing that 68% to 70% are against the idea of data centres being built in their community.Much of the opposition to these centres is centred around general distrust of artificial intelligence, environmental concerns, and worries that data centres will drive up electricity costs in the communities they are placed in..Smith and ministers reassure Albertans about their commitment to safely welcoming AI data centres.Isaacman's idea is not new, but the public statement from a top NASA official about the idea may spark further interest from public and private investors in the possibility of making space-based data centres a more common occurrence.Despite the promotion from Isaacman, the idea of large data centres being put into space has also faced pushback from professional and amateur astrophysicists.A Reddit post talking about the idea faced significant pushback, with users pointing out the immense heat that data centres produce and the difficulty in dissipating heat in the vacuum of space."Servers produce lots of heat, and heat is difficult to dissipate in a vacuum. Also when the sun shines on your satellite it gets really hot, and servers don't like heat," the top comment from the post reads.Commenters also mentioned the issue of radiation in space and just what kind of effect that could potentially have on any theoretical space-based data centre. It seems that while Isaacman's idea is novel and poses a good solution to a growing issue, there is still much technical work to be done to make this idea a viable alternative to terrestrial data centres.

NASA chief proposes moving AI data centres into space

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