SpaceX wants to put 1 million solar-powered data centers in orbit

SpaceX filed an application with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Friday seeking approval to put a constellation of 1 million data center satellites into orbit. While the FCC is unlikely to approve a network this expansive, SpaceX’s strategy has been to seek approval for unrealistically large numbers of satellites as a starting point for negotiations.

The submission proposes creating a network of solar-powered data centers in low Earth orbit that communicate with each other via lasers. The filling speaks of the constellation in ambitious science fiction terms, describing it as “a first step towards becoming a Kardashev level 2 civilization – one that can harness the full power of the sun.”

Even if a small fraction of those 1 million satellites end up in orbit, it would represent a significant increase in the number of human-made objects in space. The European Space Agency estimates that there are about 15,000 satellites orbiting Earth right now, the majority of them Starlink. (More than 9,600 of them, according to… Jonathan Satellite Report.)

When experts are already concerned about the abundance of space junk and the possibility of orbital collisions, such an explosion of objects in orbit may seem unwise. But SpaceX says orbital data centers will be a cheaper and more environmentally friendly alternative to the ground-based centers that form the backbone of the growing artificial intelligence industry. Instead of siphoning off water from communities, polluting groundwater, and running up electricity bills, orbiting data centers would be able to radiate heat into the vacuum of space and rely almost entirely on real-time solar power and limited batteries.

Backlash against data centers has been growing, and communities are increasingly winning battles to prevent their construction. So it’s no surprise that the biggest names in AI are turning their attention to one of the few places where there’s no community bothering them.

January 31 correction: A previous version of this article said there are more than 11,000 Starlink satellites in orbit. This number was the total number of satellites launched, including satellites that were taken out of service. This has been corrected to reflect the number of active Starlink satellites currently in orbit.