Google and SpaceX explore launch deal to build AI data centers in space

Google is in talks with SpaceX for a rocket launch deal as the search giant looks to test whether AI data centers can be built in orbit, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

The talks are still preliminary, and Google is also speaking with other rocket launch providers, the report said.

The discussions follow Google’s launch of Project Suncatcher, a research effort focused on building scalable AI infrastructure in space. Google said in November that the project explores solar-powered satellite constellations equipped with TPUs and free space optical links, with the long-term goal of scaling machine learning compute beyond Earth.

Google plans to launch two prototype satellites by early 2027 in partnership with Planet. The mission is designed to test hardware in orbit and lay the groundwork for a future space-based computing system.

The idea is gaining momentum as AI companies race for more power, land, chips, and cooling capacity. Space based data centers could use continuous solar energy and avoid some of the land and grid bottlenecks facing terrestrial data center projects, though the model still faces major engineering, launch cost, maintenance, and latency challenges.

A deal with Google would also expand SpaceX’s growing role in AI infrastructure. Last week, Anthropic agreed to use the full computing power of SpaceX’s Colossus 1 facility in Memphis, which includes more than 220,000 Nvidia GPUs and about 300 megawatts of compute capacity. Anthropic also expressed interest in working with SpaceX on multiple gigawatts of orbital data centers.

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