Recent surges in AI training and inference workloads have intensified focus on orbital data centers, where continuous solar power and radiative cooling in vacuum could bypass terrestrial energy and water constraints. Starcloud’s November 2025 launch of an NVIDIA H100 GPU—followed by in-orbit training of a small language model and Gemini inference—provided the first hardware proof point, while SpaceX, Blue Origin, Google’s Project Suncatcher, and Orbital have filed for constellations ranging from tens of thousands to one million satellites. Orbital’s mid-September 2026 partnership with Reflex Aerospace targets a 2027 Orbital-1 prototype emphasizing thermal management and up to 250 kW solar arrays. Key near-term catalysts include additional 2027 prototype launches, Starship-enabled scale-up potential in 2028, and regulatory clarity on FCC filings, though radiation hardening, downlink bandwidth, and per-kilogram launch costs remain material hurdles for commercial viability.