Amazon's AWS CEO: Orbital Data Centers Still Far from Reality

[Para 1: The Lead] Amazon Web Services (AWS) CEO Matt Garman asserts that space-based data centers remain far from practical implementation, despite growing interest and investment in the concept. Garman's remarks came during the Cisco AI Summit in San Francisco on February 3, 2026. [Para 2-3: Supporting details & Context] Garman highlights the significant challenges, including the scarcity of rockets capable of launching large numbers of satellites and the astronomical costs associated with space payloads. He emphasizes that the economic feasibility of space data centers is currently non-existent. While startups and Amazon's founder, Jeff Bezos, through Blue Origin, are exploring space data center concepts, Garman's statement underscores the current impracticality of such an approach. The explosive growth of AI necessitates robust computing power, but terrestrial data centers face overheating issues. Space-based solutions, while intriguing, are not economically viable at this stage.