Datacenters in the sky? China Bids on the AI-Space Nexus
In just over a year, China has built an ecosystem dedicated to orbital data centers.
A Long March 8 carrier rocket carrying a new satellite group blasts off from the Hainan commercial spacecraft launch site, June 5, 2026 in Wenchang, Hainan, China. Credit: Luo Yunfei/China News Service/VCG via AP Images
“Let’s take our data centers, put them in Earth’s 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.”
So said NASA Administrator, Jared Isaacman in an interview in late August, his comments coming at a time when U.S. public favourability towards data centers is rapidly dimming, and as demand for computing capacity is rising in the age of advanced artificial intelligence.&nb
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