Bring data centers to space to save electricity

Researchers believe that deploying data centers in space is a feasible solution in terms of technology, finance and environment.

The Advanced Space Cloud for European Net Zero Emissions and Data Sovereignty (ASCEND) research project has a budget of 2.1 million USD, conducted by the Thales Alenia Space joint venture following a request from European Commission, the executive agency of the European Union (EU).

Damien Dumestier, project manager, said the idea of ​​moving the data center to space is to take advantage of the endless energy source from the Sun, reducing energy needs on the ground.

Data centers require huge amounts of energy and cooling water. According to estimates by the International Energy Organization IEA, the total electricity consumption of global data centers in 2006 could reach 1,000 terawatt-hours, equivalent to the consumption of all of Japan.

Merima Dzanic, head of strategy and operations at the Danish Data Center Industry Association, said a data tsunami could flood the tech industry and require three times the power of traditional facilities. . Therefore, a completely new approach to data center design, construction and operation is needed.

ASCEND researches solutions for deploying data centers in orbit to build a starting point for the commercialization of space cloud services. ASCEND aims to launch 13 data center modules with a total consumption of 10 megawatts to an altitude of 1,400 km above the ground, three times the altitude of the International Space Station (ISS), before 2037.

Each module can handle independent data center services and fits inside a booster rocket, with a surface area of ​​6,300 m2. ASCEND's goal is to deploy 1,300 modules, reaching a total capacity of one gigawatt, before 2050. This is expected to have a significant impact on energy consumption in the digital sector.