SpaceX Applied to Send 1 Million Satellites to Orbit

Plan for 'Orbital Data Centers' for Artificial Intelligence

Elon Musk's space company SpaceX has proposed a radical plan to meet the increasing processing power demand of artificial intelligence (AI). In its application to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the company requested permission to send one million satellites into Earth orbit to function as 'orbital data centers.'

An Alternative to Traditional Systems

The application stated that traditional ground-based data centers are insufficient to meet AI's rapidly growing processing needs. SpaceX claimed that this solar-powered satellite network would be a more sustainable alternative in terms of cost and energy efficiency and would provide the capacity to serve 'billions of users globally.'

Density and Security Concerns in Space

The plan would vastly expand SpaceX's existing Starlink network, which currently consists of approximately 10,000 satellites. Starlink satellites have been criticized for causing traffic congestion in space and, according to astronomers' complaints in 2024, obstructing telescope observations. Musk had previously denied claims that his satellites were excluding competitors.

Space industry experts, however, warn that the increasing number of low-orbit vehicles raises the risk of collision and that space debris poses a danger to physical hardware. Additionally, the cost of transporting hardware to orbit and the complexity of cooling systems stand out as technical challenges for the plan.

Long-Term Vision: A 'Kardashev Type II Civilization'

In its application, SpaceX also stated that this project would be the first step towards becoming a 'Kardashev Type II level civilization' capable of harnessing the full power of the Sun. This statement refers to a scale proposed by an astronomer in the 1960s for classifying hypothetical advanced alien civilizations.

Elon Musk, in a statement from the social media platform X, said, 'The satellites will be so far apart that seeing one from another will be difficult. Space is incomprehensibly vast.'

The proposed satellite network, much like Starlink, will be positioned in low Earth orbit at an altitude of 500 to 2,000 kilometers. The 'orbital data center' concept is noted as an area being researched by companies other than SpaceX as well.