Google in talks with SpaceX over orbital data centre initiative
While both leaders hail the move as inevitable, technical and environmental hurdles remain significant.
Google is reportedly in advanced negotiations with SpaceX to collaborate on building orbital data centres as part of its Project Suncatcher initiative. The potential partnership would see the two major competitors, currently rivals on Earth, join forces to deploy computing infrastructure in space. This development comes as both companies view space-based computing as an inevitable evolution of the industry.
Project Suncatcher, the moonshot initiative Google announced last November to explore the feasibility of space-based data centres, predates SpaceX's own plans for a massive satellite network. While Google shared news of Suncatcher in November, Elon Musk recently announced a merger between SpaceX and xAI with the intent of launching one million orbital data satellites. According to reports, Google has been working on the concept of orbital data centres since the end of 2025 and is currently in discussions with other rocket-launch companies in addition to SpaceX.
The search giant is already collaborating with Planet Labs to design and build the satellites required for this initiative. Both Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Elon Musk have publicly stated that space-based computing is unavoidable. Pichai predicted that within a decade, building data centres in space would be viewed as a normal practice, while Musk claimed that satellites would become the cheapest way to generate AI compute power within three years.
Despite the enthusiasm from industry leaders, experts have raised significant concerns regarding the technical feasibility of carrying out AI inference in space at scale. GPUs housed in satellites would be subjected to constant cosmic radiation, which could affect their ability to perform error-free calculations. Furthermore, cooling hardware in the near vacuum of space presents a major challenge, as the only method to dissipate heat is to slowly radiate it outwards.
Beyond technical limitations, there are substantial environmental and operational risks associated with deploying large satellite constellations. Experts warn that putting millions of satellites in low Earth orbit could have detrimental effects on the planet's atmosphere. Additionally, such a dense network could compromise the safety of other spacecraft operations, potentially interfering with the activities of other companies and governments.
The status of the negotiations between Google and SpaceX remains reported but is not yet confirmed as a finalised deal. Specific timelines for when these orbital data centres might become operational remain unclear, and the extent to which Google's discussions with other providers will influence the final partnership structure is unknown. The project faces a complex path forward as it balances ambitious goals with unproven technology and regulatory scrutiny.
