SpaceX has outlined an ambitious plan to deploy solar-powered satellite data centres in orbit, signalling how far the race to support large-scale artificial intelligence workloads is pushing beyond traditional terrestrial infrastructure.
According to a filing lodged with the US Federal Communications Commission, SpaceX is seeking regulatory approval to launch a constellation of up to one million satellites designed to harness near-continuous solar power and provide on-orbit processing capacity for AI data centres. The proposal reflects growing pressure on land-based data centres, which are consuming ever-larger amounts of electricity as AI models increase in size and complexity.
The filing emerged shortly after reports that SpaceX and Elon Musk’s AI company xAI are in discussions around a potential merger ahead of a major public offering. If pursued, such a move would align space launch, satellite infrastructure and AI development under a single corporate strategy, intensifying competition with technology giants including Google, Meta and OpenAI.
In its submission, SpaceX argues that orbital data centres could deliver both economic and environmental advantages. By operating in space, the satellites would be able to capture solar energy almost continuously, reducing reliance on terrestrial power grids and cutting operational and cooling costs associated with conventional facilities. The company claims this approach could significantly lower the environmental footprint of AI computing compared to ground-based alternatives.
While the headline figure of one million satellites is striking, industry observers note that satellite operators often seek approval for far more capacity than they initially intend to deploy. SpaceX previously requested permission for up to 42,000 Starlink satellites before rolling out the network, which currently comprises around 9,500 spacecraft. Only about 15,000 satellites are presently in orbit across all operators.
The proposal is closely tied to SpaceX’s development of Starship, its fully reusable heavy-lift rocket. The company’s filing leans heavily on the assumption that Starship will dramatically reduce launch costs and enable the deployment of unprecedented mass to orbit at high frequency. SpaceX argues that reusable launch vehicles could make it feasible to scale on-orbit processing far faster than building and powering equivalent infrastructure on Earth.
Starship has conducted 11 test flights since 2023, and Musk has said he expects the vehicle to begin carrying operational payloads this year. The rocket is central not only to this data centre concept, but also to expanding Starlink with larger, more capable satellites.
For technology and infrastructure leaders, the proposal highlights how AI’s energy demands are forcing unconventional thinking. Data centres are already straining power grids, water supplies and planning frameworks in multiple countries. Moving parts of that compute load into space, while still speculative, reflects the scale of the challenge facing AI-driven growth.
The plan also raises significant regulatory, technical and geopolitical questions. Orbital congestion, space debris, spectrum allocation and the security of off-planet compute infrastructure would all need to be addressed before such a system could become viable. Approval from the FCC would be only the first step in a long and complex process.
Whether or not SpaceX ultimately deploys AI data centres in orbit, the filing illustrates a broader reality: as AI accelerates, the boundaries between space, energy and computing infrastructure are blurring. What once sounded like science fiction is increasingly being explored as a potential answer to very real constraints on Earth.
