SpaceX seeks to launch one million satellites to power AI from orbit

Elon Musk’s SpaceX has filed an ambitious proposal with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission to launch up to one million satellites into low-Earth orbit, aiming to create orbital data centers to support artificial intelligence (AI) computing.

The plan would dramatically expand SpaceX’s Starlink network, which currently operates nearly 10,000 satellites. 

According to the application, these solar-powered satellites could provide AI processing capacity for billions of users worldwide while claiming to be a more energy-efficient alternative to traditional terrestrial data centers.

Musk described the network on X, noting the satellites “will actually be so far apart that it will be hard to see from one to another. 

Space is so vast as to be beyond comprehension.” The proposal frames the project as a first step toward “becoming a Kardashev II-level civilisation,” referencing a theoretical scale of advanced societies capable of harnessing the Sun’s full energy.

The satellites would orbit at altitudes of 500 to 2,000 kilometers (310–1,242 miles). SpaceX asserts orbital data centers would reduce the power and water demands of conventional facilities.

Experts, however, caution that deploying such a vast fleet presents challenges, including high launch costs, infrastructure complexity, space debris risks, and potential collisions. 

Astronomers have also previously raised concerns that radio signals from Starlink have interfered with telescopic observations.

While SpaceX denies that Starlink satellites are overcrowding space, the proposal signals Musk’s latest vision for merging satellite networks with cutting-edge AI infrastructure.