Register now: The energy imperative driving the push toward orbital data centers
paceNews is hosting a virtual event titled The Energy Imperative Driving the Push Toward Orbital Data Centers on March 31, 2026, from 1:00 p.m. to 1:45 p.m. ET, to discuss the rising interest in deploying computing and data infrastructure in Earth orbit. Sponsored by Star Catcher and held in partnership with the Commercial Space Federation, the webinar will explore the energy and computing demands that are motivating consideration of space‑based data centers and how these pressures are shaping the emerging orbital infrastructure market.
Speakers confirmed for the online session include Andrew Rush, Chief Executive Officer of Star Catcher, and Daniel King, Research Fellow at the Foundation for American Innovation, with Jason Rainbow, Senior Staff Writer and Business Intelligence Manager at SpaceNews serving as moderator. The conversation is designed to highlight technical, economic and market factors driving interest in on‑orbit computing and to identify potential gaps and opportunities in what is still a nascent segment of the space economy.
The event reflects broader conversations in the aerospace and technology sectors about the implications of adding significant compute capacity to orbital infrastructure, where abundant solar power and cooling potential are often cited as motivators for moving portions of data processing off Earth’s constrained grids and into space. Participants and registrants will hear perspectives on how energy constraints on terrestrial data centers and growth in artificial intelligence and cloud workloads could shape investment and strategic decisions in space systems, plus discussion on future operational and regulatory considerations for orbital data center concepts.
