Imagine a world in which data centers were deployed in space.
Using a satellite networking system, data would be collected from Earth, then sent to space for processing and storage. The system would use photonics and optical technology, dramatically cutting down on power consumption and boosting data transmission speeds. The Earth’s weather or natural disasters would no longer interrupt communications.
Does this sound like something out of science fiction? Well, it’s very real, with trials and demonstrations underway this year and a launch planned for 2025.
Why put data centers in space?
Current technology primarily emphasizes the enhancement of information processing speed and capacity.
However, this approach has its constraints, particularly with the substantial growth of AI, placing significant strain on networks, computational resources, and storage, pushing them to their limits.
This has huge implications on the amount of power consumption, which is hard on the environment. Even our current communications infrastructure doesn’t always meet the needs of users.
Mobile networks and internet connections go down – with outages stemming from natural disasters, bad weather, human error or network overload. As we look to the future, it’s time for new innovations to meet current and future needs for data and computing resources.
Space provides an answer. NTT is working with SKY Perfect JSAT to develop a satellite networking system called the Space Integrated Computing Network to process and store data in space.
Each satellite will be equipped with computing functions that can process data, connecting to a network of satellites of optical communications that perform the role of a data center. This removes the need to send data back to Earth for processing and analysis, which slows data traffic and consumes a lot of power.
How the Space Integrated Computing Network will work
These space data centers will be powered with photonics, through Innovative Optical Wireless Network (IOWN) technology. This network technology reduces the power consumption of satellites and allows for greater resistance of the effects of radiation in space.
The Space Integrated Computing Network will be able to gather data from Earth, and process and analyze it more quickly than is possible today.
By reducing the exchange of large volumes of data between Earth and space, it will also speed up the process of transfer times. Images of large-scale farms taken by a satellite will be viewed in hours, not days.
Low-orbit satellite technology will be used to collect data from Internet of Things (IoT) terminals positioned around Earth.
This will allow for the collection of environmental information and data from farms, offshore wind terminals, autonomous vehicles and more, to learn, predict and prevent issues before they happen.
Advantages of data centers in space
IOWN vastly increases the speed of data communications and reduces electricity consumption. Research is now underway into how a space-based network can also reduce carbon loads by harnessing the power of the sun to generate electricity for data processing.
With communications infrastructure located in space, natural disasters on Earth will no longer cause service interruptions or other risks, even for mobile networks.
A mobile communications platform formed by low-orbit satellites and high-altitude platform stations will act as a launch for connectivity services and applications such as messaging and ultra-wide area coverage on Earth.
This new low-carbon, autonomous space infrastructure is expected to launch in 2025, using the power of light to connect our Earth with the vastness of space and deliver a sustainable infrastructure for the data of tomorrow.
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