SpaceX, or Space Exploration Technologies Corp., founded in 2002, is an American space technology company and a dominant launch provider. It designs, manufactures, and launches advanced rockets and spacecraft, including the Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy, Dragon spacecraft, and Starship. SpaceX partners with organizations like NASA and the United States Armed Forces and is known for its advancements in reusable launch vehicles, human spaceflight, and satellite constellation technology like Starlink. Key words: launch provider, reusable rockets, space exploration, Starlink, Falcon, Dragon, Starship, NASA.
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SpaceX filed an application with the Federal Communications Commission for a constellation of up to one million satellites intended to serve as orbital data centers for artificial intelligence.
SpaceX filed an FCC application on January 30, 2026 for up to one million satellites explicitly targeting AI inference and Orbital Data Centers operating between 500 and 2,000 km including sun-synchronous inclinations.
SpaceX’s FCC filing does not include timeline targets for deploying the proposed orbital data-center constellation.
NASA selected SpaceX to provide the lunar lander under terms set by NASA, and the person responsible for that selection subsequently left NASA to work at SpaceX.
SpaceX’s Starbase has become an operational asset central to the company’s industrial and launch activities in the region.
SpaceX’s FCC filing states the orbital data center satellites would operate between 500 kilometers and 2,000 kilometers altitude and at inclinations of 30 degrees and Sun-synchronous orbit.
SpaceX proposed reliance on optical inter-satellite links for communications between satellites and with Starlink spacecraft that would relay data to Earth.
SpaceX’s FCC filing projects that launching 1 million tonnes per year of satellites at 100 kilowatts of compute power per tonne would result in about 100 gigawatts of AI compute capacity annually.
SpaceX’s Starship is designed for full reusability and to carry much more cargo per flight than previous vehicles, enabling potential launch costs below $200 per kilogram.
SpaceX described the proposed orbital data-center system as a high-bandwidth, optically linked constellation of solar-powered satellites designed to provide unprecedented computing capacity to power advanced artificial intelligence models.
Both Blue Origin and SpaceX submitted acceleration approaches to NASA for potential faster lunar landing options.
SpaceX is seeking approval from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission to deploy an orbital data center satellite constellation.
SpaceX’s FCC filing does not include timeline targets for deployment of the orbital data center constellation.
SpaceX acquired xAI on February 2, 2026 in a deal that values the combined entity at approximately $1.25 trillion.
On January 30, 2026 SpaceX filed a regulatory request with the Federal Communications Commission seeking authorization to launch a constellation of up to one million satellites.
Booster 19 is part of a numbered sequence of prototypes that reflects SpaceX’s iterative build-test-modify approach.
The proposed SpaceX satellites would operate at altitudes between 500 and 2,000 kilometers.
SpaceX posted on X on February 1, 2026 an update showing Booster 19 during preliminary activities and indicating the vehicle is preparing to begin prelaunch testing.
SpaceX’s FCC filing projects that within a few years the lowest cost to generate AI compute will be in space.
SpaceX’s prelaunch activities for boosters include structural verifications, onboard systems checks, and integration tests with ground infrastructure.