Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt has recently taken over relativity Space, a startup specializing in space-to-air missiles. His ambition is to one day put data centers directly on the orbit, powered by solar energy, with the aim of minimizing the impact on the Earth's environment.
A few weeks ago, Eric Schmidt warned of a possible energy crisis in the future at a hearing before the US Congress.
According to him, the development of artificial intelligence (AI) will lead to the proportion of data center performance in global electricity consumption increasing from the current 3% to 99% in the future. A simple request on ChatGPT requires 10 times more resources than searching on a regular search engine.
Faced with these challenges, Eric Schmidt has come up with the idea of placing a dedicated infrastructure on the orbit, using solar energy and cooling the vacuum of space.
This unique approach will minimize the environmental impact of data centers on Earth.
Relativity Space made a name for itself when launching its first 3D printed rocket, Terran 1, in 2023. Currently, the company is developing a more complex model, called the Terran R, expected to launch in late 2026.
The idea was to turn the Terran R into a reusable launcher to carry a medium and heavy load, up to about 30 tons.
Therefore, the Terran R is positioned as a direct competitor to SpaceX's Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy ( Elon Musk's company) and Blue Origin's New Glenn ( Jeff Bezos's company). One day, the Terran R could help put future data centers in orbit.
Although this somewhat strange project poses some technical challenges for Relativity Space, this initiative is positioned as a creative solution for the future energy crisis caused by AI.
Eric Schmidt's appearance at this startup could attract the attention and investors in a field that is currently fiercely competitive and requires a lot of investment capital.
A report by the International Energy Agency (IEA) said that in 2024, data centers will account for 1.5% of the world's electricity consumption. This rate will double by 2030, equal to Japan's total electricity consumption.
