SpaceX seeks FCC nod to build data center constellation in space

SpaceX is requesting permission to launch as many as 1 million satellites into the Earth’s orbit in order to pull off Elon Musk’s latest grand vision of putting data centers in space to do complex computing for artificial intelligence.

In a filing with the Federal Communications Commission made late Friday, SpaceX said it’s creating the solar-powered network in order to “accommodate the explosive growth of data demands driven by AI.”

“Launching a constellation of a million satellites that operate as orbital data centers is a first step towards becoming a Kardashev II-level civilization — one that can harness the Sun’s full power — while supporting AI-driven applications for billions of people today and ensuring humanity’s multi-planetary future amongst the stars,” SpaceX wrote in the filing.

The system, which could be launched via the company’s reusable Starship rocket, would serve as a lower-cost and more environmentally friendly alternative to land-based data centers, the filing states. 

Instead of requiring cooling systems that use large volumes of water like those on land, the network would rely on radiative cooling that occurs in space, which allows for the dissipation of heat. It would also reduce the need ...