The Crusoe company has taken a bold step in cloud computing by partnering with Starcloud to run workloads from space, becoming the first public cloud provider to do so. The plan, presented on October 22, 2025, states that by the end of 2026 a Crusoe Cloud module will be launched aboard a Starcloud satellite, with limited graphics processing capability starting in early 2027.
This movement seeks to address one of the most significant challenges facing AI data centers: the energy bottleneck. By utilizing the solar energy available in space, Crusoe and Starcloud hope to create more efficient and sustainable operations.
Starcloud, known for developing orbital data centers, will focus on employing dedicated solar panels to power the facilities and on using the vacuum of space for cooling via infrared radiation. The mission also entails the launch of a powerful NVIDIA H100 GPU in November 2025.
With this alliance, Crusoe and Starcloud want to overcome current limitations in energy, cooling, and capacity expansion. Space offers advantages such as constant solar energy, efficient cooling, and modular growth, avoiding the use of terrestrial land.
Nevertheless, latency and bandwidth are important concerns. Although constellations in low Earth orbit handle latencies comparable to terrestrial connections, it remains to be determined which processes work best in space. Part of the processing could be carried out in orbit, while the heavier data would remain on Earth.
Initially, access will be restricted and directed to customers with specific needs for surveillance, defense, and telecommunications. It is expected that Starcloud and Crusoe will expand their orbital data centers as demand and technology evolve.
Despite the opportunities, the project faces significant challenges, such as thermal management, radiation resistance, and maintenance. Moreover, the costs of integrating and launching new technologies pose an economic challenge.
In summary, although space presents new challenges, it also opens up promising prospects for cloud computing, with the potential to reconfigure the landscape of data centers worldwide. Crusoe, by partnering with Starcloud, seeks not only to diversify its services, but to lead a new era in information technology from space.
More information and references in Cloud News.
