After Musk, Skyroot CEO bats for space-based data centers
What's the story
The CEO of Skyroot Aerospace, Pawan Kumar Chandana, has predicted that space-based data centers could be a reality within five years. He made the prediction at Network18's Rising Bharat Summit in Bengaluru. Chandana said that the economics of computing will eventually move to space as satellites can harness continuous solar energy without atmospheric losses.
Industry trend
Tech giants are already exploring space-based computing
The concept of space-based computing has gained traction among global tech giants.
Executives from companies like SpaceX, Microsoft, Google, and Amazon have acknowledged that the growing demand for AI workloads and energy constraints could make orbital data centers a feasible long-term solution.
Chandana said the first prototypes of these data centers could be launched in two to three years with wider adoption expected soon after.
Company vision
Skyroot plans to increase launch frequency
Chandana envisions the next phase of the space economy going beyond satellite launches to include satellite broadband, direct-to-mobile communication, and space-based computing.
He said that Skyroot, which recently became first Indian private firm to launch an orbital rocket on its first attempt with Vikram-1 mission, is gearing up to scale up launch operations.
The Hyderabad-based start-up plans to increase its launch frequency to about one mission a month starting next year while developing heavier launch vehicles and, eventually, reusable rockets.
Strategic expansion
Chandana believes humans are exploratory species
Chandana said that Skyroot wants to build the infrastructure needed for the next phase of the space economy, not just be a launch services provider.
He also highlighted that their engineering team's average age is 28, showing how young talent is contributing to India's private space sector.
"Humans are exploratory species," Chandana said. "Sky is not the limit for space."