GeoTech Cues
August 28, 2026 • 12:03 pm ET
Will LaRivee and Matt Petit
As the public debate over data centers heats up on planet Earth, companies are already considering launching them into orbit. SpaceX is on the front lines of this push, but it is far from the only company considering orbital compute and storage. Its record-breaking $85 billion initial public offering (IPO) demonstrates how much of the new space economy is now being driven by private companies rather than governments.
Such a shift raises a serious and unprecedented governance problem. If companies store and process data beyond national borders, who owns the data once it leaves Earth? Is it the company operating the infrastructure, the country where that company is headquartered, or investors who hold a large portion of that company’s value?
