SpaceX submitted a filing to the FCC seeking authorization for a constellation comprising one million solar-powered data centers positioned in low Earth orbit. The infrastructure is designed to communicate internally through interconnected laser links, forming a vast, distributed computational network. The company framed this undertaking in its filing as a preliminary action toward achieving Kardashev Type II civilization status, capable of fully utilizing solar energy.
According to the filing reported by The Verge, SpaceX argues that orbital data centers offer substantial environmental benefits over ground-based facilities. These advantages include eliminating the need to draw significant water resources for cooling, avoiding groundwater pollution, and mitigating local energy cost inflation. Orbital platforms could instead radiate waste heat directly into the vacuum of space while relying on continuous solar power generation.
This proposal arrives as ground-based data center construction faces increasing public and regulatory resistance concerning resource consumption in various communities. The tech industry, particularly those driving intense computational demands like advanced AI development, is actively seeking alternative, less contentious deployment locations. Orbital infrastructure presents an environment free from local community opposition.
However, the sheer scale of the request—one million new objects—presents significant challenges to orbital traffic management. The European Space Agency currently estimates approximately fifteen thousand satellites orbit the Earth, with the majority belonging to SpaceX’s Starlink network. Johnathan's Space Report indicates over nine thousand six hundred of those are active Starlink units.
Experts cite existing concerns regarding the proliferation of space debris and the heightened risk of orbital collisions. Introducing a tenfold expansion of current satellite numbers, even a fraction of the requested one million, would place considerable stress on current space situational awareness protocols. Regulators must weigh the technological ambition against these established sustainability risks.
SpaceX often initiates large-scale regulatory requests as a negotiating baseline, suggesting the final approved number may be significantly smaller than the initial proposal. Nevertheless, even a scaled-down deployment of specialized data center satellites represents a novel and aggressive expansion of commercial activity beyond the atmosphere.
This move signals a critical juncture where the escalating computational requirements of AI directly collide with the finite capacity and environmental constraints of near-Earth space. The FCC’s eventual ruling will set important precedents for future large-scale commercial space ventures involving critical infrastructure.
