A satellite with extended solar panels orbiting Earth, visible against the backdrop of space and the planet’s curved horizon.

Orbital AI Data Centers in Space Are Now a Real Test Case, Not a Near-Term Replacement for Earth

Orbital’s 2027 satellite mission makes orbital AI infrastructure more concrete than it was a year ago, but the immediate story is still validation, not displacement. The strongest signal is that companies are narrowing the target to AI inference in low-Earth orbit because energy, cooling, and sovereignty pressures are real on Earth, while the technical and…

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A satellite communication terminal mounted on a spacecraft with Earth visible in the background, showing detailed laser communication hardware.

Laser Links Beat RF on Throughput, but Deployment Depends on Ground Networks That Can Survive the Real World

Space laser communication is no longer just a faster lab alternative to radio. It is becoming operational because three pieces are finally maturing together: smaller terminals on spacecraft, optical ground stations that can keep working in difficult environments, and network designs that treat weather and pointing errors as infrastructure problems rather than side notes. Operational…

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