The emergence of a "new space economy" is driving ambitious plans for orbital data centers, though significant technical and sustainability challenges remain, experts said during an S&P Global Market Intelligence and S&P Global Energy Horizons webinar.
"We're seeing a major push in [Federal Communications Commission] filings for orbital data centers," said Johan Vermij, senior research analyst at 451 Research by S&P Global, during the webinar.
The space industry has dramatically transformed in the past two decades, with the number of satellites increasing to approximately 17,000 from 700 at the turn of the century, according to John Fletcher, senior analyst at S&P Global Market Intelligence Kagan. About two-thirds of them belong to Starlink.
"These LEO (Low Earth Orbit) satellites are only about 100 miles above the ground," Fletcher said. "They're flying at 18,000 miles an hour above our heads."
This proximity enables significantly better speeds and lower latency compared to legacy geostationary satellites positioned more than 10,000 miles above Earth.
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