In two respects, 2026 is set to be a decisive year for space. The first is that, as geopolitical tensions rise globally, space is becoming a new arena for warfare. States are looking to protect key assets that have become essential in the case of war. The second is the new projects and companies that can impact not only space but also contribute to enhancing life on Earth. These projects have been empowered by lower launch costs enabled by SpaceX through its partnership with NASA.
The first and most immediate change we are witnessing is in space telecommunications. This is nothing new; for decades, transmitting locations, voice or data directly from satellites to devices on Earth has been available, but often at prohibitive prices. We are now witnessing large-scale adoption for the first time.
SpaceX is leading the way with its Starlink project, which offers its internet services across the globe at a fast pace. Individuals, airlines and militaries (such as in the Ukraine conflict) are now using it for data services. Amazon is also developing a broadband network through Amazon Leo, formerly known as Project Kuiper. With other companies also competing, competitively priced direct-to-device satellite communication is hence just around the corner.
And this is the key to everything. If you develop a new technology in space, it either has to be available at a cost that is comparable with the same service on Earth or the incremental value must be worth a premium. Today, new projects are being developed that might not seem viable, but I strongly believe that as the in-orbit economy continues to develop, these projects or services will not only transform the space economy but also Earth’s. They will create the next phase of wealth for our planet and beyond.
The US understands this new paradigm and the new NASA head, Jared Isaacman, is the right person to unleash the power of private entrepreneurship in partnership with the government. His commitment to returning humans to the moon during President Donald Trump’s second term, establishing a sustainable presence and an “orbital economy,” will support the advent of a true space economy. In that sense, 2026 will be a key year.
These projects will not only transform the space economy. They will create the next phase of wealth for our planet and beyond. Khaled Abou Zahr
Let us start with what comes naturally and organically. As data has been the key element for space services, entrepreneurs are asking: why not store data in space? Why not shift data centers, especially with the growing need for artificial intelligence, to space? This is something the large players are already planning.
Elon Musk recently announced that SpaceX is scaling its next-generation Starlink V3 satellites into a laser-linked mesh network capable of handling massive AI compute workloads. This relies on a successful Starship, SpaceX’s in-development fully reusable heavy-lift vehicle, which could deploy about 60 large V3 satellites per launch starting in 2026, sustaining an extremely high launch cadence. Musk estimates this system could deliver up to 500 gigawatts of solar-powered orbital AI compute annually, far surpassing terrestrial data center limits on power and land, while potentially enabling a terawatt-scale orbital cloud infrastructure with global, low-latency routing and effectively unlimited solar energy.
In November, Google unveiled its Project Suncatcher, a research “moonshot” that aims to build a data center in space. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has also had a team working for more than a year on the technology to deploy orbital AI data centers. He stated that this would “beat the cost of terrestrial data centers in the next couple of decades.”
Another contender is Starcloud, a young startup founded by serial entrepreneur Philip Johnston, which recently launched a satellite with an Nvidia H100 graphics processing unit. It made history by sending a chip that is 100 times more powerful than any GPU compute that has been in space previously. Its Starcloud-1 satellite is running an open large language model from Google while in orbit.
The operation of data centers in space faces several major technical challenges. Thermal management is one of the biggest. There is also radiation exposure and power generation and storage. Existing technology requires large solar arrays — the equivalent of more than 320 football fields, which is a clear vulnerability. So, it is logical that space-based data centers are far more complex and expensive to build and operate than terrestrial ones.
It is logical that space-based data centers are far more complex and expensive to build and operate than terrestrial ones. Khaled Abou Zahr
Yet, the ingenuity to create better-performing technology and the development of in-orbit logistics will solve replacement logistics challenges that impose further constraints. Just as on Earth, one of the key elements for AI data centers is energy and, with some important caveats, space offers abundant solar energy and global coverage. Hence, there are also companies looking to harness this power and beam it to Earth.
This concept is what is called space-based solar power. It is the idea of collecting energy from sunlight in orbit, where it is constant and more intense, and then wirelessly transmitting it to Earth using microwaves or lasers. With various concepts and infrastructure differences, innovation is moving forward.
In the US, companies such as Aetherflux, Overview Energy and Reflect Orbital are developing laser-based power transmission or orbital mirrors. Europe’s efforts include the UK’s Space Solar, Germany’s SpaceTech, Italy’s SunCubes and the European Space Agency’s Solaris program. The China Academy of Space Technology is also pushing ahead with its Omega 2.0 initiative. The deployment of large-scale orbital solar power stations will have a key year in 2026, potentially impacting the energy sector over the coming decades.
Moreover, innovation is going beyond traditional investment avenues and this is at the heart of the challenges space projects face. In this context, it is worth noting the launch of the world’s first dedicated space leasing company, Libra Group’s SLI, which recently announced that it is set to purchase and lease two geostationary satellites in a deal worth more than $200 million. Leasing is widely used in industries like aviation, automotive, construction, IT and healthcare. It reduces upfront costs and increases flexibility — and this model is now also possible in space. Ultimately, this will support the accelerated development of the global space economy.
There is no doubt that we are witnessing, across the board, the building blocks of a $1 trillion-plus orbit economy and 2026 will be a cornerstone year for this development. But it is important to understand the current space economy and not get confused. The commercialization of space, as presented by many space entrepreneurs and space agencies’ executives, is not yet a reality. Space’s biggest client is and will continue to be governments and their agencies, especially intelligence and military authorities. However, the true space economy is shaping up and, with energy and data innovation in space, this will bring positive changes on Earth.
BY: Writer Khaled Abou Zahr is the founder of SpaceQuest Ventures, a space-focused investment platform. He is CEO of EurabiaMedia and editor of Al-Watan Al-Arabi.
Disclaimer: Views expressed by writers in this section are their own and do not necessarily reflect The Times Union‘ point of view
