The Verge (17 December 2025)

Billionaires want data centers everywhere, including space

Space data centers also have to contend with the uniquely extraterrestrial problem of getting rid of heat in a vacuum. But infrared radiation also has the potential to interfere with telescopes, according to John Barentine of the advocacy group the Center for Space Environmentalism. The group has not come out for or against space data centers, Barentine said, but they are concerned about the impact of potential light pollution from reflective surfaces on the spacecraft on astronomy research. Space companies often classify those spacecraft details as “trade secrets,” leading to a “chicken-and-egg situation right now,” Barentine said. “We can’t really say with a lot of certainty what the impacts will be because we don’t know the details because the companies haven’t or won’t disclose them.”

Read more: https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/845453/space-data-centers-astronomers