Latest news with #TerranR
Free Malaysia Today
08-05-2025
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
Could there soon be data centres in space?
The Terran R launcher could one day be used to put data centres into orbit. (Relativity Space pic) PARIS : Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt recently took the helm of Relativity Space, a startup specialising in space launchers. His ambition is to one day place data centres directly into orbit, powered by solar energy, with the aim of alleviating their environmental footprint on Earth. A few weeks ago, Eric Schmidt warned of a possible future energy crisis at a hearing before the US Congress. According to him, the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) means that the share of data centre activity in global electricity consumption could rise from the current 3% to 99% in the future. In particular, he mentioned plans for data centres with a capacity of 10 gigawatts, almost 10 times the equivalent of a nuclear reactor. Indeed, a simple query on ChatGPT requires 10 times more resources than a search on a conventional search engine. Faced with these challenges, Eric Schmidt put forward the idea of placing dedicated infrastructure in orbit, powered by solar energy and cooled by the vacuum of space. This unique approach would reduce the environmental footprint of terrestrial data centres. Relativity Space made a name for itself by launching its very first 3D-printed rocket, the Terran 1, in 2023. The company is currently developing a more elaborate model, dubbed Terran R, scheduled for launch in late 2026. The idea is to make Terran R a reusable launcher for carrying medium and heavy loads, up to around 30 tonnes. Terran R is thus positioned as a direct competitor to SpaceX's Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy (led by Elon Musk) and Blue Origin's New Glenn (led by Jeff Bezos). It could therefore one day help launch future data centres into orbit. Although this somewhat outlandish project presents Relativity Space with a number of technical challenges, the initiative is positioned as an innovative solution to the future AI-induced energy crisis. Eric Schmidt's arrival at the startup is likely to attract attention and investors, in what is now an ultra-competitive sector that requires a great deal of funding. A report by the International Energy Agency (IEA), published in April, stated that by 2024, data centres would account for around 1.5% of the world's electricity consumption. This share is set to double by 2030, to equal Japan's total electricity consumption today.
The Star
07-05-2025
- Business
- The Star
Could there soon be data centres in space?
Schmidt put forward the idea of placing dedicated infrastructure in orbit, powered by solar energy and cooled by the vacuum of space. This unique approach would reduce the environmental footprint of terrestrial data centres. — AFP Relaxnews Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt recently took the helm of Relativity Space, a startup specialising in space launchers. His ambition is to one day place data centres directly into orbit, powered by solar energy, with the aim of alleviating their environmental footprint on Earth. A few weeks ago, Eric Schmidt warned of a possible future energy crisis at a hearing before the US Congress. According to him, the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) means that the share of data center activity in global electricity consumption could rise from the current 3% to 99% in the future. In particular, he mentioned plans for data centres with a capacity of 10 gigawatts, almost 10 times the equivalent of a nuclear reactor. Indeed, a simple query on ChatGPT requires 10 times more resources than a search on a conventional search engine. Faced with these challenges, Schmidt put forward the idea of placing dedicated infrastructure in orbit, powered by solar energy and cooled by the vacuum of space. This unique approach would reduce the environmental footprint of terrestrial data centres. Relativity Space made a name for itself by launching its very first 3D-printed rocket, the Terran 1, in 2023. The company is currently developing a more elaborate model, dubbed Terran R, scheduled for launch in late 2026. The idea is to make Terran R a reusable launcher for carrying medium and heavy loads, up to around 30 tonnes. Terran R is thus positioned as a direct competitor to SpaceX's Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy (led by Elon Musk) and Blue Origin's New Glenn (led by Jeff Bezos). It could therefore one day help launch future data centres into orbit. Although this somewhat outlandish project presents Relativity Space with a number of technical challenges, the initiative is positioned as an innovative solution to the future AI-induced energy crisis. Schmidt's arrival at the startup is likely to attract attention and investors, in what is now an ultra-competitive sector that requires a great deal of funding. A report by the International Energy Agency (IEA), published in April, stated that by 2024, data centres would account for around 1.5% of the world's electricity consumption. This share is set to double by 2030, to equal Japan's total electricity consumption today. – AFP Relaxnews
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Eric Schmidt joins Relativity Space as CEO
Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt is taking over as the CEO of Relativity Space, a 9-year-old rocket startup, a company spokesperson confirmed in a statement to TechCrunch. This is Schmidt's first CEO job since he left Google roughly 15 years ago. On Monday, Schmidt told employees of Relativity Space that he made a significant investment and had taken a controlling stake in the company, the New York Times first reported. Schmidt is succeeding the startup's co-founder, Tim Ellis, as chief executive. Schmidt is joining Relativity Space right as the company gears up for the 2026 launch of Terran R, a larger rocket than what the startup has launched before, that would compete with SpaceX's Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy. In anticipation of Terran R's first launch, Relativity Space has struck nearly $3 billion in launch contracts with customers, the Times reported. Relativity Space is known for producing its rockets with unusual techniques, including the use of 3D printers, automated robots, and artificial intelligence. The company also has bold ambitions, previously announcing a plan to send the first private space mission to Mars by 2024. However, some launch failures have set those audacious milestones on hold.
New York Times
10-03-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Eric Schmidt Joins Relativity Space, a Rocket Start-Up, as C.E.O.
For a decade, Eric Schmidt ran Google as chief executive and as the 'adult' in the room, mentoring the internet company's young founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin. In 2011, Mr. Schmidt handed control of Google back to Mr. Page. He has not taken another C.E.O. job since. But on Monday, Mr. Schmidt told employees of Relativity Space, a rocket start-up in Long Beach, Calif., that he had made a significant investment and taken a controlling stake in the company, and would take over as chief executive, two people with knowledge of the meeting said. Mr. Schmidt, 69, succeeds Relativity Space's current chief, Timothy Ellis, a co-founder who will remain on the board of directors, the two people said. It is unclear how much money Mr. Schmidt has invested in the start-up. Relativity Space is one of a crop of start-ups angling to manufacture rockets that can carry smaller payloads of around two tons or less, up to low to medium Earth orbit. Some of these companies focus on building cheaper, reusable rockets to launch commercial payloads — usually satellites — into space for a fraction of the cost of legacy manufacturers that use pricier, disposable rockets. The aim would partly be to take on Elon Musk's SpaceX, the dominant rocket maker. Relativity Space has also said it has a long-term goal of creating an industrial base on Mars. Mr. Ellis, who once worked at Jeff Bezos' rocket company, Blue Origin, founded Relativity Space in 2016 with a former SpaceX employee, Jordan Noone, on the premise that more could be done to bring down the costs of building rockets, using technologies like 3-D printers, automated robotics and artificial intelligence. The company has raised close to $2 billion at an estimated valuation of $4 billion to $6 billion from investors such as Coatue, BlackRock, Bond, Fidelity and Mark Cuban, among others, according to data compiled by PitchBook. In recent years, Relativity Space has run into challenges. It launched its small Terran 1 rocket once, in 2023, and it failed soon after liftoff. A month later, Relativity Space announced it would retire Terran 1 to focus on the Terran R, a larger rocket that would compete with SpaceX's Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy. The start-up has moved away from focusing entirely on 3-D printed materials and has begun incorporating more traditionally made parts in building its rockets. At the same time, Relativity Space faces stiff competition. The company, which has said it plans to launch the Terran R in 2026, could by then face many rivals including the New Glenn, the orbital rocket from Blue Origin; Vulcan by United Launch Alliance; Neutron by Rocket Lab; and the Medium Launch Vehicle by Firefly Aerospace, a Texas start-up that landed a spacecraft on the moon last week. By late last year, Relativity Space faced difficulties raising new funding, according to the two people with knowledge of the matter. Mr. Schmidt, who holds a pilot's license and has personal investments in the aerospace and defense industries, including drone research and A.I., grew interested in Relativity Space in 2024, they said. This year, he agreed to invest in the company through Hillspire, his family office investment firm, and continue supporting Relativity Space on the condition that he would take over day-to-day operations, the people said. Mr. Schmidt will focus on building up operations and improving product and manufacturing execution, the people said. In Monday's meeting with employees, he expressed his passion for the project, they said. Despite the struggles, Relativity Space executives have expressed confidence in the company's progress. The start-up has noted milestones from its Terran 1 rocket, such as how it was the first time a 3-D printed rocket had reached 'max-q,' which is the point when the vehicle experiences the strongest stresses. Terran 1 also achieved stage separation, when the booster used for liftoff drops from the vehicle's second stage. It's unclear how consequential these are, since the company has decided to move away from 3-D printed materials, which will ultimately raise the cost of building rockets higher than previously expected. After the Terran 1 launch, Relativity Space reached close to $3 billion in future launch contracts with customers, the two people familiar with the company said. In 2022, before the Terran 1 failure, Relativity Space, collaborating with another start-up named Impulse Space, announced an audacious plan to send the first private space mission to Mars. At the time, Mr. Ellis acknowledged the plan was 'at the edge of crazy.' He added that the mission, launching on a Terran R, could be ready in two and a half years, when Mars and Earth were properly lined up. That window, in late 2024, passed.
