Data centers soon in space? A European study is launched from Cannes

Always more data to store and therefore energy expended. While the number of data centers and their environmental impact are exploding in Europe and around the world, the solution could well come from space. The satellite manufacturing specialist Thales Alenia space, based in Cannes (Alpes-Maritimes), announced on Monday that it had been selected by the European Commission to conduct “a feasibility study” on “the installation of data centers in orbit”. .

These would be “powered by solar power plants of several hundred megawatts […] outside the Earth’s atmosphere”, says the joint venture between the French Thales and the Italian Leonardo. And could “contribute to the Green Deal objective of carbon neutrality by 2050 and constitute an unprecedented development of the European space and digital ecosystem”, she also boasts in a press release.

A “green and reusable launcher” designed by Europe?

So that these satellites can be launched, the study, called Ascend (for “Advanced space cloud for european net zero emission and data sovereignty” or Advanced space cloud for European data sovereignty and net zero emission) and carried out in partnership with Orange, ArianeGroup or even Airbus Defense will have to ensure their benefit. And in particular confirm whether “the carbon emissions associated with the production and launch phases of such space infrastructures will be significantly lower than the emissions that the data centers would produce if they remained on the ground”.

The project “would justify the development of a green, heavy and reusable launcher” which would allow “Europe to regain its leading position in transport, space logistics and the assembly of large infrastructures, directly in orbit”, explains Thales Alenia space. If they see the light of day, these data centers in orbit should therefore require a major financial investment which has not yet been specified.