Secure World Foundation hosted “An Initial Conversation: Orbital Data Centers & Space Sustainability Implications” on July 29, 2026, at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, D.C.
The panel examined the space safety, sustainability, and policy coordination questions raised by orbital data centers, or ODCs. These proposed satellite constellations are designed to support artificial intelligence and other compute-intensive applications by harnessing solar power in space. If fully deployed, current ODC proposals would add tens of thousands, and in some cases far more, satellites to low Earth orbit.
Speakers discussed how policymakers, regulators, operators, and the broader space community can assess these proposals without treating them as routine satellite licensing matters.
Several themes emerged during the discussion, including the need for trusted space situational awareness, stronger coordination between operators, system-level review of large constellations, and evidence-based study of atmospheric and reentry impacts.
“Coordination between operators is the key,” said Ezra Feilden, co-founder and CTO of Starcloud, noting that multiple uncoordinated operators in the same orbital regimes could create serious challenges.
Jeff O’Neil, Director of Government Affairs at Planet Labs, emphasized the need for “the right SSA that is trusted,” including better modeling of the space environment and international cooperation on SSA data sharing.
Ronald Birk of The Aerospace Corporation noted the need to examine how SSA capabilities and sensing infrastructure scale as ODC proposals develop.