NASA administrator suggests putting data centers in space

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman on Wednesday suggested housing data centers in space amid mounting controversy surrounding the facilities’ growing presence in the U.S.

“Let’s take our data centers, put them in Earth orbit, take advantage of that free fusion reactor that’s out there for us and use that to ensure we do win the … space race for sure, but the (artificial intelligence) race, too,” Isaacman said in an interview with Nexstar DC’s Vinay Simot.

He added that the move would “have immense benefits,” as companies could leverage solar energy — the aforementioned “free fusion reactor” — to power data centers.

Data centers, which fuel the growing artificial intelligence (AI) industry, have quickly lost favor with the public — with many saying their presence raises prices in communities and carries negative environmental impacts.

Amid this pushback , both Democratic and Republican politicians are hastily trying to distance themselves from the facilities. Some swing state candidates have backed stricter policy on data centers, alleging their opponents are too close with the tech industry.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) signed an order last week requiring that data center developers cover electricity costs and gain local backing for projects. Shapiro had previously boasted about these facilities’ investments in his state.

Wednesday was not the first time the NASA administrator proposed the idea of sending data centers into space. In an early August appearance on the New York Post’s “Pod Force One” podcast, Isaacman called the proposal a “fantastic” solution to the publics’ complaints.

“Elon [Musk] and others in the industry are like, ‘Let’s take the data centers that no one likes in your backyard — it seems like there’s a lot of consensus on that — and put them into space where they won’t bother anyone’,” Isaacman said during the podcast.

He added that the space data centers would need solar panels “the size of several football fields.”

Although some lawmakers have called for data center bans, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin on Sunday advised against the idea — pointing to possible ramifications for the U.S. in its AI race against China.

“There’s been a push from some states where they’re talking about a statewide moratorium , and what I’ve found is that most of this country wants to make sure the United States wins this race to be the AI capital of the world, that we do not relinquish this to China,” Zeldin said during an appearance on John Catsimatidis’s radio show “The Cats Roundtable” on 77 WABC.