Bezos vs Musk: Space race heats up with new orbital data center push

The article highlights the escalating competition between Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin and Elon Musk’s SpaceX as they pursue the development of orbital data centers to address the surging energy demands driven by the generative AI boom. AI systems require massive power, and data centers on Earth face challenges such as high energy consumption and cooling costs. Placing data centers in Earth's orbit offers potential solutions by leveraging space’s cold temperatures for efficient cooling and continuous solar energy, potentially reducing environmental impact and operational costs. This concept has attracted major players, including former Google CEO Eric Schmidt’s acquisition of Relativity Space, SpaceX’s plan to expand Starlink satellites for space-based data centers, and now Blue Origin’s secretive work on similar technology. Jeff Bezos envisions gigawatt-scale orbital data centers within 10 to 20 years, emphasizing the advantages of uninterrupted solar power and the absence of weather-related disruptions in space. This aligns with his broader goal of relocating significant portions of Earth’s industry off-world. Additionally, space solar