China Challenges SpaceX with Gigawatt Space AI Data Centers
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CNBC TV18•29-01-2026, 13:17
China Challenges SpaceX with Gigawatt Space AI Data Centers
- •China plans to launch space-based AI data centers within five years, directly challenging Elon Musk's SpaceX ambitions.
- •China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) aims to build "gigawatt-class space digital-intelligence infrastructure" for processing Earth data in space.
- •SpaceX also plans solar-powered orbital AI data centers within 2-3 years, citing energy constraints on Earth and higher power generation in orbit.
- •Both nations seek to shift energy-intensive AI processing to space, with China targeting an industrial-scale "Space Cloud" by 2030.
- •The competition extends to space tourism and achieving space dominance, though China faces a bottleneck in reusable rocket technology compared to SpaceX's Falcon 9.
Why It Matters: China and the US are in a fierce race to establish space-based AI data centers and achieve space dominance.
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