DE-CIX chief warns orbital data centres need networks

DE-CIX Chief Executive Officer Ivo Ivanov has warned that networking, rather than computing, is likely to be the main obstacle for data centres in space. He said the debate around orbital infrastructure has focused too heavily on compute.

His comments come as interest grows in putting AI data centre infrastructure into orbit, with large technology and space organisations examining whether space could ease pressure on terrestrial power, cooling and land constraints.

Ivanov argued that sending servers into orbit may address some physical limits on Earth, but it does not remove the need for reliable links between users, businesses, cloud platforms and other AI systems. In his view, orbital computing would make networking demands more complex, not simpler.

He pointed to a wider industry push into space-based infrastructure. Google's Project Suncatcher has been exploring space-based compute and energy generation, while Amazon already runs satellite-to-cloud ground station infrastructure designed to connect orbital assets with terrestrial cloud environments.

The European Space Agency is also backing work in this area through its OFELIAS project, which brings together organisations including the German Aerospace Centre and DE-CIX to develop low-latency, laser-based satellite communications.

Connectivity challenge

A central argument in Ivanov's assessment is that latency alone will not determine whether orbital data centres are useful in practice. He said the harder test will be whether connections between Earth and space can be made predictable and resilient enough for AI workloads and the broader digital economy.

"SpaceX's projected record-breaking IPO has obviously dominated headlines, but it's also brought one of the technology industry's most ambitious ideas into mainstream conversation - putting AI data centers into orbit," said Ivanov, Chief Executive Officer of DE-CIX.

He said demand for AI compute has renewed interest in orbital infrastructure because space could offer continuous solar power, natural radiative cooling and more room for expansion than many locations on Earth.

"It's no coincidence that some of the largest companies in the world are talking about orbital data centers. As demand for AI compute continues to accelerate, orbit potentially offers access to continuous solar power, natural radiative cooling, and room to scale beyond many of the physical constraints faced on Earth. Whether those ambitions are realized tomorrow or years from now, the idea has already graduated from sci-fi fantasy to real infrastructure planning," Ivanov said.

Even so, he warned that enthusiasm for orbital computing risks overlooking the practical challenge of moving data between many locations. AI systems rely on exchanges between applications, enterprises, edge sites, cloud platforms and other models, making network performance a core requirement rather than a secondary concern.

"What's striking, however, is that much of the mainstream debate still focuses on compute rather than connectivity. AI doesn't create value in a vacuum. Every model, application, and agent depends on the constant exchange of data between users, enterprises, cloud platforms, and other AI systems. Moving compute into orbit may help address power and cooling challenges, but it doesn't remove the need for fast, resilient, and predictable networking. In fact, it makes it all the more vital," Ivanov said.

Laser links

Ivanov also highlighted the technical limits facing optical and laser-based communications, which are often presented as a route to very high-capacity links between satellites and the ground. While such systems can support far more bandwidth than traditional radio communications, they remain exposed to environmental and operational disruption.

Cloud cover, atmospheric turbulence and the complexity of satellite-to-ground handovers remain unresolved issues for operators trying to build dependable links. Those problems matter because many proposed orbital data centre models assume a constant flow of information between space-based processing and users or systems on Earth.

"Elon Musk himself has noted that orbital infrastructure is only a few milliseconds away, but latency is only part of the equation. Predictability and resilience matter just as much. Optical and laser-based links are far more preferable to radio communications and can deliver enormous bandwidth, but they have to contend with cloud cover, atmospheric turbulence, and the complexities of satellite-to-ground handovers, which is why the ESA's OFELIAS initiative and others like it are so important," Ivanov said.

His comments suggest that the commercial case for space-based data centres will depend less on the ability to launch hardware and more on whether the sector can integrate orbital systems into the broader digital network. That would mean connecting data centres on Earth, cloud environments, edge locations, satellites and any future orbital compute sites in a way that appears seamless to users and applications.

"Getting compute into orbit is one thing, but weaving together data centers on Earth, cloud platforms, edge locations, satellites, and eventually orbital compute into a single digital ecosystem capable of supporting AI at planetary scale is another thing entirely. The industry may be looking to the stars for the next big data center breakthrough, but the real test will be ensuring every one of those systems can communicate as seamlessly as if they were sitting in the same room. Wherever networks are created, interconnection should follow," Ivanov said.