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

[Daniel Nenni]

The company claims it’s a cheaper and more environmentally-friendly alternative to land-based centers.

SpaceX has filed a request with the Federal Communications Commission to launch a constellation of up to 1 million solar-powered satellites that it said will serve as data centers for artificial intelligence.

The company’s filing lays out a grandiose vision, not just describing these planned satellites as “the most efficient way to meet the accelerating demand for AI computing power” but also framing them as “a first step towards becoming a Kardashev II-level civilization — one that can harness the Sun’s full power” while also “ensuring humanity’s multi-planetary future amongst the stars.”

The Verge argued that the 1 million satellite number is unlikely to be approved outright and is probably meant as a starting point for negotiations. The FCC recently gave SpaceX permission to launch an additional 7,500 Starlink satellites, but said it would “defer authorization on the remaining 14,988” proposed satellites.

There are currently around man-made 15,000 satellites orbiting the Earth, according to the European Space Agency, and they’re already creating issues with pollution and debris.

The filing also comes as Amazon — citing a lack of rockets — is seeking an extension on an FCC deadline to have more than 1,600 satellites in orbit. Meanwhile, SpaceX is reportedly considering a merger with two of Elon Musk’s other companies, Tesla and xAI (which already merged with X), ahead of going public.

SpaceX seeks federal approval to launch 1 million solar-powered satellite data centers | TechCrunch

SpaceX's filing claims these satellites will be “a first step towards becoming a Kardashev II-level civilization — one that can harness the Sun’s full power."

techcrunch.com

 

[C-4]

So, how do you cool your chips in space where you can’t just dump the heat into the atmosphere or the sea? And what to do about the part of low earth orbit where the sun sets behind earth?

 

[Barnsley]

What happen when there is so much junk up there it blocks the sun?

 

[IanD]

So, how do you cool your chips in space where you can’t just dump the heat into the atmosphere or the sea? And what to do about the part of low earth orbit where the sun sets behind earth?

You radiate the heat out into space behind the solar panels -- might take similar area to solar panels for input power (see calculations elsewhere), but cooling rig weight could be "challenging"... ;-)

I assume they'd use orbits in a band around the Earth which are always roughly at right-angles to the sun, so they never go into the shadow.

 

[IanD]

What happen when there is so much junk up there it blocks the sun?

Even a million orbiting data centers would occupy only a *tiny* fraction of the orbital area...

“Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist's, but that's just peanuts to space.”

 

[hist78]

So, how do you cool your chips in space where you can’t just dump the heat into the atmosphere or the sea? And what to do about the part of low earth orbit where the sun sets behind earth?

In order to reach such one million "data centers", each of them needs to be cheap and almost disposable, because there is no easy or cheap way to send groups of engineers or robots to the outer space to fix anything that breaks down due to technical or environmental issues.

Is it real, or is it an idea created for other reasons?

 

[peter]

You radiate the heat out into space behind the solar panels -- might take similar area to solar panels for input power (see calculations elsewhere), but cooling rig weight could be "challenging"... ;-)

I assume they'd use orbits in a band around the Earth which are always roughly at right-angles to the sun, so they never go into the shadow.

The FCC application states 500km to 2000km altitude for the orbital shells at up to 50km increments at 30 degree inclination and sun synchronous orbits

What happen when there is so much junk up there it blocks the sun?

Funny you mention that the FCC application also states: "This satellite system will represent the “first step towards becoming a Kardashev II-level civilization – one that can harness the Sun’s full power,” according to SpaceX"

In order to reach such one million "data centers", each of them needs to be cheap and almost disposable, because there is no easy or cheap way to send groups of engineers or robots to the outer space to fix anything that breaks down due to technical or environmental issues.

Is it real, or is it an idea created for other reasons?

I suppose it provides a lot of autonomy/less regulation and that alone could be a big driver considering Musk's AI ambitions and the uphill battle these companies are going to face building out AI datacenters in areas that are power constrained. As pro nuclear as I am, I don't envision any new nuclear plants being completed within a decade in the US, far too slow to make a dent on the explosive energy demand that datacenters are going to place on the grid in just the next few years. Starlink V3 sats have >100kw of solar modules, and solar arrays in orbit have 2-3 times higher capacity factor than the best places on Earth with unparalleled consistency.

Is it real? If you run the numbers, it comes down to whether or not they can get the launch cost per kg down sufficiently. Starlink has already been a driver for them to do that and really push Starship, but datacenter satellites in space could dramatically increase the demand for launch volume and drive Starship launch costs down, while also: 1. potentially improve latency, 2. no real estate costs/energy costs to operate, 3. reduce physical staffing costs, 4. potentially reduce network connectivity costs utilizing Starlink (will still need ground stations), 5. not deal with any nimbyism or regulatory restraints, 6. potentially be more reliable. It's interesting to see how when Microsoft tested a containerized datacenter in the ocean with an oxygen purged atmosphere, the reliability of the hardware was 7 times higher than the same hardware exposed to air. Hard to say whether such improvements can be seen in space, you do have to contend with stray cosmic rays and CMEs and the like, and mitigating those hazards by rad-hardening, but perhaps this would be a great opportunity to test out how latest generation semiconductors handle the rigors of space compared to their terrestrial counterparts in parallel.

As for cheap and disposable, that's how Starlink satellites are designed. I'd be concerned about making sure there are no collisions and they are safely deorbited after reading EOL. Heat dissipation is manageable, wouldn't be too concerned as these satellites will spend half the time behind the Earth, radiator sizes will get big but it's not a show stopper.