BBS:      TELESC.NET.BR
Assunto:  OpenAI CEO questions space data centers
De:       Mike Powell
Data:     Thu, 26 Feb 2026 10:25:50 -0500
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Sam Altman says plans for data centers in space are 'ridiculous' - is this
the start of a new war of words with Elon Musk?

By Efosa Udinmwen published 18 hours ago

OpenAI CEO questions cost, hardware limits, and feasibility

    Sam Altman describes current proposals for orbiting data centers as
entirely unrealistic for this decade
    Modern AI chips cannot survive space radiation, making orbital data centers
currently unfeasible
    Radiation-hardened semiconductor nodes lag behind advanced fabrication
processes required for AI workloads

Sam Altman has publicly dismissed proposals to place large-scale data centers
in orbit, describing the idea as unrealistic under current technological and
economic conditions.

The OpenAI chief executive argued space-based computing infrastructure will not
operate at a meaningful scale within this decade.

His comments come as the likes of Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos have spoken about
the long-term potential of orbital facilities powered by abundant solar energy
and freed from terrestrial constraints.

Hardware not built for space

Altman's remarks directly challenge that optimism and draw attention to the
practical limitations facing such projects.

"I honestly think the idea with the current landscape of putting data centers
in space is ridiculous," said Sam Altman at a press conference hosted by The
Indian Express.

"It will make sense someday, but if you just do the very rough math of launch
costs relative to the cost of power we can produce on Earth, not to mention how
you are going to fix a broken GPU in space, and they still break a lot,
unfortunately, we are not there yet."

Modern AI accelerators and high-performance processors are manufactured using
advanced fabrication nodes such as 4nm-class process technologies.  These
cutting-edge chips are not radiation-hardened and therefore cannot withstand
the harsh conditions of space.

Radiation-resistant semiconductor technologies do exist, although they rely on
much older manufacturing nodes that lack the performance required for today's
large AI workloads.  Before orbiting facilities can handle meaningful
computational demand, new fabrication approaches would need to combine advanced
performance with radiation tolerance.

Beyond processing hardware, orbital data centers would require cooling systems
and reliable power generation capable of sustaining millions of accelerators.
Terrestrial data centers already depend on complex arrangements involving power
grids, cooling systems, SSD arrays, HDD backups, and cloud storage integration,
all of which would require adaptation for space environments.

Launch providers such as SpaceX and Blue Origin are developing reusable rockets
and space infrastructure, yet the supporting ecosystem for operating massive
computing facilities in orbit remains incomplete.

Cost remains a central barrier to orbital deployment. Launching 800kg into low
Earth orbit can cost several million dollars using current commercial rockets.

A single Nvidia NVL72 GB200 rack-scale solution weighs well over a metric ton
without additional cooling or connectivity systems.  Scaling such
infrastructure into orbit would multiply launch requirements and associated
expenses.

Even if launch prices decline for larger payloads, the cumulative cost of
transporting and assembling full-scale facilities would remain high under
current conditions.

Altman has acknowledged that space will eventually support certain industries,
although he maintains that orbiting data centers do not appear viable at scale
this decade.


Via Tom's Hardware: https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/artificial-intel
ligence/sam-altman-fires-back-at-elon-musks-proposal-for-space-based-data-cente
rs-says-orbiting-data-centers-ridiculous-for-now-cites-high-failure-rates-and-c
ost-as-primary-limiters

https://www.techradar.com/pro/sam-altman-says-plans-for-data-centers-in-space-a
re-ridiculous-is-this-the-start-of-a-new-war-of-words-with-elon-musk

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