Orbital Temples of Artificial Intelligence

U vremenu kada se ljudska žudnja za znanjem i snagom umjetne inteligencije širi brzinom koju je teško i zamisliti, Zemlja se suočava s tihim, ali sve teže podnošljivim teretom. Centri za obradu podataka, ti nevidljivi hramovi digitalnog doba, rastu poput šuma od stakla i čelika, a svaki novi list te šume traži sve više vode, sve više električne energije i sve više prostora koji bi inače pripadao rijekama, poljima ili tišini. Rashladni tornjevi isisavaju rijeke, dalekovodi se savijaju pod težinom potražnje, a tlo se pretvara u beton. Čovjek, koji je nekoć gledao u zvijezde kao u obećanje, sada gleda u njih kao u utočište.

Postoji, međutim, misao koja se rađa iz same potrebe i koja seže dalje od Zemljine kore. Što ako računalna snaga, ta nova krv civilizacije, ne mora više živjeti među nama? Što ako se može podići u orbitu, tamo gdje Sunce ne poznaje noć, gdje vakuum sam postaje hladnjak, a gravitacija više ne nameće granice? U toj zamisli sateliti nisu više samo oči koje gledaju prema dolje, nego čitavi gradovi procesora koji lebde u vječnom svjetlu, hranjeni neprekidnim snopovima sunčeve energije. U orbiti zore i sumraka, gdje se Sunce nikada potpuno ne gasi, paneli se otvaraju poput krila goleme ptice i hvataju snagu koja na Zemlji ostaje nedostižna.

Takav satelit nije odvojen od rakete koja ga nosi. Gornji stupanj sam postaje kućište, koža postaje radijator, a gorivo koje ga je diglo pretvara se u rashladno sredstvo. Čelik koji je preživio žar lansiranja ostaje gore i služi kao oklop i kao hladnjak. U pet regala smještenih unutar te leteće građevine rade tisuće procesora, a cijela konstrukcija, jednom raširena, doseže razmjere manjeg grada – stotine metara u širinu i dužinu. Svaki takav objekt donosi megavat računalne snage, a tisuće njih, rasprostrtih u niskoj Zemljinoj orbiti, stvaraju mrežu čija ukupna moć može nadmašiti cijele zemaljske elektroenergetske sustave.

Escape from Gravity, Ascent into Purity.

Prednosti su oštre poput oštrice noža. Nema iscrpljivanja vodnih izvora. Nema natjecanja s poljoprivredom ili gradovima za zemljište. Energija stiže izravno od Sunca, bez posrednika, bez gubitaka u prijenosu kroz atmosferske slojeve. Toplina se odvodi u beskrajni prostor, a ne u rijeke i jezera. Podaci putuju laserskim snopovima, brzom i gotovo nevidljivom mrežom koja povezuje orbitu s površinom, a obrada se može odvijati tamo gdje se podaci i stvaraju – visoko iznad oblaka.

No put do takve budućnosti nije posut zvijezdama. Svaki lansiranje mora biti ekonomično, svaki satelit izdržljiv, svaki sustav rashlađivanja savršeno usklađen s vakuumom. Treba graditi rakete koje se mogu višekratno koristiti, tvornice koje proizvode stotine takvih strojeva godišnje, i lansirna mjesta koja rade poput ritma srca. Treba zamisliti čitavu industriju koja se diže s tla i ostaje gore, rastući sastav po sastav, dok ne postane novi sloj ljudske civilizacije – sloj koji ne troši Zemlju, nego je štiti.

Vodeće američke tvrtke i projekti

• Cowboy Space (ranije Aetherflux) – Baiju Bhatt (suosnivač Robinhooda). Grade vlastitu raketu Big Iron čiji gornji stupanj postaje megavatni AI podatkovni centar. Planiraju konstelaciju od 20.000 satelita (Stampede).
• Starcloud (ranije Lumen Orbit) – Trenutno najnaprednija startup-tvrtka. Već su lansirali satelit s NVIDIA H100 GPU-om (prvi put u povijesti) i trenirali AI model u orbiti. Planiraju veliku konstelaciju (do 88.000 satelita).
• SpaceX (u suradnji s xAI) – Projekt Starmind. Najambiciozniji plan: do milijun satelita s NVIDIA Vera Rubin hardverom. Prvi sateliti očekuju se 2027./2028.
• Google – Project Suncatcher. Već su lansirali prototip sa svojim TPU čipovima (listopad 2026.). Cilj su povezani sateliti koji rade kao orbitalni AI klaster.
• Blue Origin – Project Sunrise. Prijavili su konstelaciju od oko 51.600 satelita u sun-sinhronoj orbiti.
• Axiom Space – Već imaju operativne orbitalne čvorove (nodes) koji rade kao edge-computing infrastruktura u svemiru.
• Sophia Space – Grade solarno napajane, space-cooled AI podatkovne centre.
• Orbital (Orbital Inc.) – Fokus na AI inferenciju. Planiraju do 100.000 satelita.

Kineski projekt

• ADA Space + Zhejiang Lab – Three-Body Computing Constellation. Već imaju više satelita u orbiti (prvi val 2025., proširenje 2026.) i realno izvršavaju AI modele (uključujući Alibabin Qwen).

Ostali relevantni igrači

• Lonestar Data Holdings – Više fokusirani na pohranu podataka (uključujući lunarne planove).
• NVIDIA – Ne grade satelite, ali isporučuju specijalizirani hardver (Space-1 Vera Rubin moduli) gotovo svim većim projektima.

Trenutno su Starcloud, Cowboy Space, SpaceX/xAI i Google najvidljiviji u utrci za stvaranje prave komercijalne infrastrukture AI podatkovnih centara u orbiti.

U ovoj viziji čovjek više nije samo stanovnik jedne planete. On postaje arhitekt prostora oko nje. Umjetna inteligencija, koja je nastala iz zemaljskog praha, seli se u čistoću orbite, gdje može rasti bez da guši izvore iz kojih je i sama potekla. Voda ostaje rijekama, tlo ostaje šumama, a energija se crpi iz beskrajnog izvora koji je oduvijek sjajao iznad naših glava. Tako se, možda prvi put u povijesti, tehnologija ne okreće protiv svoga doma, nego se diže iznad njega – ne kao bijeg, nego kao čin zrele odgovornosti.

I dok se noću zvijezde mirno okreću, među njima će se, jednog dana, kretati tihi svjetionici računala, nevidljivi većini očiju, ali neophodni budućnosti. Oni će nositi snove, znanje i snagu jedne civilizacije koja je napokon shvatla da pravo bogatstvo nije u tome što uzimati od Zemlje, nego u tome što joj ostaviti dok i sam odlaziš dalje.

Željko Serdar ( HCOIE )

When Computers Ascend to the Stars.

In an age when humanity’s hunger for knowledge and the power of artificial intelligence expands at a pace almost beyond imagining, the Earth bears a quiet yet increasingly unbearable burden. Data centers, those invisible temples of the digital age, rise like forests of glass and steel, and every new leaf of that forest demands more water, more electricity, and more space that would otherwise belong to rivers, fields, or silence. Cooling towers drain rivers, power lines sag under the weight of demand, and soil turns to concrete. Man, who once looked to the stars as a promise, now looks to them as a refuge.

Yet there is a thought born of necessity itself, one that reaches beyond the Earth’s crust. What if computational power, that new blood of civilization, no longer needs to live among us? What if it can be lifted into orbit, where the Sun knows no night, where the vacuum itself becomes a radiator, and where gravity no longer imposes its limits? In that vision, satellites are no longer merely eyes gazing downward, but entire cities of processors floating in eternal light, fed by unbroken streams of solar energy. In the dawn-dusk orbit, where the Sun never fully sets, panels unfold like the wings of a vast bird and capture a power that remains unattainable on Earth.

Such a satellite is not separate from the rocket that carries it. The upper stage itself becomes the housing; the skin becomes the radiator; and the propellant that lifted it transforms into coolant. The steel that survived the heat of launch remains aloft and serves as both armor and heat sink. Within five racks nested inside that flying structure work thousands of processors, and the entire assembly, once deployed, reaches the scale of a small city—hundreds of meters in width and length. Each such object delivers a megawatt of computing power, and thousands of them, spread across low Earth orbit, form a network whose total capacity can surpass entire terrestrial power grids.

The advantages are sharp as a blade’s edge. No depletion of water sources. No competition with agriculture or cities for land. Energy arrives directly from the Sun, without intermediaries, without losses through atmospheric layers. Heat is rejected into the endless void rather than into rivers and lakes. Data travel by laser beams, a swift and nearly invisible web linking orbit to the surface, while processing can occur where the data themselves are born—high above the clouds.

A New Infrastructure Above the Clouds.

Yet the path to such a future is not strewn with stars. Every launch must be economical, every satellite resilient, every cooling system perfectly matched to the vacuum. Rockets that can be reused must be built, factories that produce hundreds of such machines each year, and launch sites that beat like the rhythm of a heart. An entire industry must be imagined that rises from the ground and remains aloft, growing stage by stage, until it becomes a new layer of human civilization. This layer does not consume the Earth but protects it.

Leading U.S. companies and projects

• Cowboy Space (formerly Aetherflux) – Founded by Baiju Bhatt (Robinhood co-founder). Building its own rocket (Big Iron) whose upper stage becomes a megawatt-class AI data center. Plans a constellation of 20,000 satellites (Stampede).
• Starcloud (formerly Lumen Orbit) – Currently the most advanced startup. Already launched a satellite with an NVIDIA H100 GPU (first in history) and trained an AI model in orbit. Planning a large constellation (up to 88,000 satellites).
• SpaceX (in partnership with xAI) – Project Starmind. The most ambitious plan: up to 1 million satellites equipped with NVIDIA Vera Rubin hardware. First satellites expected in 2027/2028.
• Google – Project Suncatcher. Already launched a prototype with its own TPU chips (October 2026). Goal is networked satellites operating as an orbital AI cluster.
• Blue Origin – Project Sunrise. Filed for a constellation of approximately 51,600 satellites in sun-synchronous orbit.
• Axiom Space – Already operating orbital computing nodes as edge-computing infrastructure in space.
• Sophia Space – Building solar-powered, space-cooled AI data centers.
• Orbital (Orbital Inc.) – Focused on AI inference. Planning up to 100,000 satellites.

Chinese project

• ADA Space + Zhejiang Lab – Three-Body Computing Constellation. Already has multiple satellites in orbit (first wave in 2025, expanded in 2026) and is running real AI models (including Alibaba’s Qwen).

Other relevant players

• Lonestar Data Holdings – More focused on data storage (including lunar plans).
• NVIDIA – Does not build satellites but supplies specialized hardware (Space-1 Vera Rubin modules) to nearly all major projects.

Currently, Starcloud, Cowboy Space, SpaceX/xAI, and Google are the most prominent contenders in the race to create commercial AI data center infrastructure in orbit.

In that vision, man is no longer merely an inhabitant of one planet. He becomes the architect of the space around it. Artificial intelligence, born of terrestrial dust, migrates into the purity of orbit, where it can grow without choking the sources from which it itself arose. Water remains for the rivers, soil for the forests, and energy is drawn from the boundless source that has always shone above our heads. Thus, perhaps for the first time in history, technology does not turn against its home but rises above it—not as escape, but as an act of mature responsibility.

And while the stars turn quietly at night, among them will one day move the silent beacons of computation, invisible to most eyes yet indispensable to the future. They will carry the dreams, the knowledge, and the power of a species that has at last understood that true wealth lies not in what it takes from the Earth, but in what it leaves in peace while itself departing farther.

Zeljko Serdar ( CCRES )