SpaceX seeks approval for solar-powered satellite data centers for AI

Elon Musk's SpaceX wants to launch a constellation of 1 million satellites that will orbit Earth and harness the sun to power AI data centers, according to a filing at the Federal Communications Commission.

The filing on Friday was posted a day after Reuters exclusively reported SpaceX and Musk's xAI are in discussions to merge ahead of a blockbuster public offering planned this year. A merger would give ‌fresh momentum to SpaceX’s effort to launch data centers into orbit as Musk battles for supremacy in the rapidly escalating AI race against tech companies Google, Meta and OpenAI.

Data centers are the physical backbone of artificial intelligence, requiring massive amounts of power.

"By directly harnessing near-constant solar power with little operating or maintenance costs, these satellites will achieve transformative cost and energy efficiency while significantly reducing the environmental impact associated with terrestrial data centers," the FCC filing said. Musk would need the telecom regulator's approval to move forward.

While it is unlikely SpaceX will put 1 million satellites in space, where only 15,000 satellites exist currently, satellite operators sometimes request approval for higher numbers of satellites than they intend to deploy to buy design flexibility; SpaceX sought approval for 42,000 Starlink satellites before it began deployment of the system. The growing network currently has roughly 9,500 satellites in space.

SpaceX's request bets heavily on reduced costs of Starship, the company's next-generation reusable rocket under development.

"Fortunately, the development of fully reusable launch vehicles like Starship that can deploy millions of tons of mass per year to orbit when launching at rate, means on-orbit processing capacity can reach unprecedented scale and speed compared to terrestrial buildouts, with significantly reduced environmental impact," SpaceX said.

Starship has test-launched 11 times since 2023. Musk expects the rocket, which is crucial for expanding Starlink with more powerful satellites, to put its first payloads into orbit this year.

-Joey Roulette and Chris Sanders;Editing by Rod Nickel/Reuters