NVIDIA and Starcloud launch first data centers in space

The startup Starcloud announced the successful launch of its first data center satellite, Starcloud-1. The satellite was launched into orbit on Sunday aboard a SpaceX rocket and separated from the launch vehicle as planned. According to the company, contact with the satellite has been established, its systems are functioning normally, and its batteries are charged.

The satellite weighs approximately 60 kg and is comparable in size to a small refrigerator. It is the first satellite equipped with an Nvidia H100 graphics processor, which is touted as the most powerful accelerator for artificial intelligence tasks. Starcloud CEO Philip Johnston stated that this equipment is designed to provide high-performance computing directly in orbit.

Starcloud-1 is built on Astro Digital's Corvus-Micro platform. The satellite will operate in an orbit at an altitude of 325 km and has an estimated lifespan of approximately 11 months. Upon completion of its mission, the satellite is planned to be deorbited and subsequently burn up in the atmosphere.

The project's primary objective is to test equipment and refine the architecture for cloud computing in space. If these goals are achieved, the company intends to develop larger orbital data centers. A concept for a 5 GW satellite with a solar array covering approximately four square kilometers has already been presented.

Starting in 2027, Crusoe plans to provide limited access to Starcloud's computing power as part of a joint project.

The launch comes amid growing interest among tech companies in the concept of space-based data centers. In October, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos suggested that such solutions could emerge within ten years. Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt acquired Relativity Space this year to develop this approach. Elon Musk confirmed on Sunday that SpaceX is also exploring the possibility of placing computing power in orbit.

Starcloud CEO Philip Johnston said that 21 months have passed since the company's founding, and they now have the world's first satellite with an Nvidia H100 GPU in orbit.