Space & Astronomy

SpaceX proposes orbital data center made up of 1 million satellites

By T.K. Randall
February 2, 2026 ·  2 comments

Image: Earth and Universe
Credit: Pablo Carlos Budassi / CC BY-SA 4.0 (adapted) If you thought the current array of more than 9,000 satellites that make up SpaceX's Starlink constellation was excessive, this latest endeavor will likely blow your mind.

According to reports, the firm is seeking approval from the Federal Communications Commission to set up a new orbital data center comprised of 1 million individual satellites.

Operating at altitudes of between 500 and 2,000 kilometers, the satellites would harness solar power to operate much more efficiently than a typical ground-based data center.

"By directly harnessing near-constant solar power with little operating or maintenance cost, these satellites will achieve transformative cost and energy efficiency while significantly reducing the environmental impact associated with terrestrial data centers," the company wrote."Launching a constellation of a million satellites that operate as orbital data centers is a first step toward becoming a Kardashev Type II civilization - one that can harness the sun's full power - while supporting AI-driven applications for billions of people today and ensuring humanity's multi-planetary future among the stars."

In other words - this space-based data center will be powering artificial intelligence systems at a scale never seen before - a true feat of space-age engineering and technology.

According to SpaceX, it is inevitable that the hosting of AI systems will move off-world.

"Freed from the constraints of terrestrial deployment, within a few years the lowest cost to generate AI compute will be in space," the company wrote.

Whether it will get permission to move ahead with the project, however, remains to be seen.

Source: SpaceX | Comments (2)

Tags: SpaceX