Europe Risks Falling Behind in Orbital Computing as US and China Accelerate

A report by the European Space Policy Institute (ESPI), published on 5 August 2026, warned that Europe risks becoming dependent on foreign orbital computing infrastructure as US companies and China's government-led push accelerate development of space-based data centres.

The warning highlights a growing gap: while Europe funded the ASCEND feasibility study in 2023 to assess orbital data centres, it has not yet moved to commercialise the concept. Philip Johnston, CEO of Starcloud — founded by three Europeans but building in the US — noted that Europe "doesn't lack talent or foresight, but does lack the risk capital and ambition" to pursue such projects. Starcloud raised $170 million in Series A funding in March 2026 to build orbital compute infrastructure.

ASCEND (Advanced Space Cloud for European Net zero emissions and Data sovereignty) is a feasibility study launched in 2023 under the EU's Horizon Europe programme, led by Thales Alenia SpaceDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →. The consortium included Airbus Defence and SpaceDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, ArianeGroupDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, CloudFerroDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Carbone 4, VITO, Orange Business, HPE Belgium, and DLR.

The study assessed whether deploying large-capacity data centres in orbit could reduce energy use, emissions, and water consumption compared with terrestrial facilities. It defined a minimum viable product of 10 MW and an ambition of 1 GW deployed by 2050, with preliminary conclusions describing a paradigm change involving several thousand tons of infrastructure and hundreds of launches per year.

According to ESPI, China's ADAspace deployed the first 12 satellites of a planned 2,800-satellite AI computing constellation in May 2025, with in-orbit tests demonstrating core capabilities by February 2026. Multiple Chinese ventures — including China Mobile, Comospace, and Shanghai Xingshu — are pursuing orbital data centre projects.

In the US, Starcloud and Cowboy Space have each reached unicorn valuations exceeding $1 billion. More ambitious applications, such as globally distributed computing networks and large-scale AI training envisioned by companies including SpaceX, remain more than a decade away, ESPI noted.

ESPI called on the EU to recognise orbital data centres as an emerging pillar of technological sovereignty, recommending a flagship European ODC initiative under the 2028–2034 research programme, early-customer contracts from ESA and the EU, and a startup-focused "European ODC Challenge."

Read more: SpaceNews · ASCEND · CORDIS · Thales Alenia Space · X / Philip Johnston