Google is taking Elon Musk’s space data center idea seriously

Elon Musk has long proselytized about the potential of space-based data centers. But as of today, he’s no longer alone in touting the idea of sending the hardware that powers AI into orbit. Google is launching a test satellite as part of Project Suncatcher, its effort to eventually put data centers in space. The satellite will hitch a ride aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from Musk’s SpaceX. Musk’s pronouncements about orbiting data centers have often been met with skepticism. Google’s arrival in the race suggests there may be a real opportunity behind the idea. “The costs of data centers on Earth are rising, while the costs of data centers in space will fall, and at some point those curves will cross,” says Matthew Weinzierl, the author of Space to Grow, a book on the economics of space. “We don’t know when, but the big investments by Google, SpaceX and the like are intended to bring that day closer.” Weinzierl says the companies’ efforts are “perhaps the best example we have yet of the power of market forces to drive innovation in space.” Still, there’s a significant difference between getting a few chips into orbit and operating an entire data center there. This week’s launch is meant …