As debate grows in the United States over the environmental and energy impact of data centers NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman has proposed an unusual solution to move them into space.
Speaking to Nexstar Media Group's Washington correspondent Vinay Simot, Isaacman said "Let's take our data centers and place them in Earth orbit. Let's take advantage of the free fusion reactor that is ready for us there and use it to win both the space and the artificial intelligence race."
Isaacman had earlier floated the same idea on the "Pod Force One" podcast, calling it a "fantastic solution" with potentially major benefits. He said key industry figures including SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk also support the concept of placing data centers in orbit where they could run on solar power instead of drawing from local electric grids.
Data centers are expanding rapidly alongside the AI boom have faced growing criticism in the U.S. for driving up electricity prices and straining the environment. Several states have seen calls to pause new data center construction. However the Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin has warned that such restrictions could hurt America's competitiveness with China in the AI race.
Isaacman has led NASA since December 2025, argues that orbital data centers could ease this tension by removing the facilities from residential areas while tapping into limitless solar energy. Though the technology remains years from large-scale deployment, he suggested the economics could eventually work with drawing a comparison to Amazon's early and unprofitable years before it became a dominant company.
