Space: Why send data centers into orbit?

Reims-based startup Latitude announced on Wednesday, May 14, the signing of a strategic agreement with the Emirati company Madari Space. This partnership aims to deploy a constellation of microsatellites in orbit designed to store and process data. Their goal: to take advantage of the space environment to power servers with solar energy while bringing them closer to the data-transmitting satellites.

On Earth, data centers consume about 1.5% of the world's electricity for cooling and data processing—a proportion that could more than double by 2030, driven by the development of artificial intelligence. This growth is accompanied by an increase in CO2 emissions. According to the International Energy Agency, these could reach up to 300 million tons per year by 2035. In addition to the energy they consume, these facilities occupy huge areas of land, up to 160 hectares for the largest sites.

By moving this infrastructure into space, Latitude and Madari hope to reduce their energy costs and carbon footprint. The servers would be powered by continuous, free solar energy , with panels exposed to near-constant sunlight. A low-orbit satellite completes a rotation around Earth every 90 minutes, so it benefits from 45 minutes of sunlight per cycle. Batteries take over during the shadow phases.

This technology could also transform the way space data is processed and used. Satellites carrying out missions such as weather forecasting, environmental monitoring , or telecommunications must transmit their data to ground-based centers for analysis. This process consumes significant bandwidth, generates transmission delays, and exposes the information to the risk of hacking.

Installing data centers aboard satellites would allow data to be processed directly in space, improving responsiveness and strengthening security by limiting data exchanges via channels vulnerable to cyberattacks. Another advantage: saving space on Earth. These space-based infrastructures do not occupy any land on the ground, easing pressure on land resources.

While the idea of ​​sending servers into space is appealing, the technological constraints are numerous. The environment there is particularly hostile: extreme temperatures, intense radiation, microgravity, and the impossibility of dissipating heat through convection. The equipment will have to be designed from ultra-resistant materials such as titanium or aluminum, protected by layers of Kevlar. These materials are rare, expensive, and not very environmentally friendly.

To be "green," these data centers will need to be sent into orbit using low-carbon launchers. Indeed, 70% of a space center's emissions are related to its launch into orbit. End-of-life deorbiting mechanisms will also need to be planned to avoid contributing to space pollution .

Despite these challenges, the idea is appealing. In addition to Madari Space and Latitude, Microsoft is collaborating with NASA on a secure data center project in space, announced for April 1, 2025. Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt now heads Relativity Space, a startup also developing orbital solar infrastructure. Europe is also moving in this direction, multiplying collaborative projects with the United Arab Emirates, which has become a major player in the space sector.

Madari plans a first demonstration in 2026 with a 1U nanosatellite (10 cm on each side). The complete constellation, composed of 50 kg microsatellites, should be deployed by the end of the decade. Launches will be handled by Latitude, via its Zephyr mini-rocket, currently being developed in Reims. If this schedule is met, the two companies could become pioneers of a new era of computing: that of orbiting data centers.