SpaceX Files for 1 Million Solar Satellite Data Centres
On 31 January 2026, SpaceX submitted a formal application to federal regulators in the United States seeking approval for the deployment of one million solar-powered satellite data centres. The filing, first reported by TechCrunch, outlines a massive expansion of the company’s orbital infrastructure, moving beyond telecommunications into large-scale orbital computing and energy harvesting. According to the documentation provided to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), this initiative represents a foundational step in the company’s long-term strategy to transition humanity toward a Kardashev II-level civilisation. This classification refers to a society capable of harnessing the total energy output of its parent star. The proposal marks the largest single request for satellite deployment in the history of the aerospace industry, significantly exceeding the scale of the existing Starlink constellation.
Background of SpaceX Orbital Infrastructure
The transition toward orbital data centres follows several years of rapid expansion for SpaceX’s Starlink programme. Since the first successful launch of operational Starlink satellites in 2019, the company has focused on providing low-latency broadband internet to terrestrial users. By early 2026, the Starlink constellation had already grown to include thousands of active units in low Earth orbit (LEO). However, the new filing indicates a shift in objective from simple data transmission to data processing and energy management.
The concept of space-based data centres has been discussed by aerospace engineers for several decades, primarily as a solution to the increasing energy and cooling demands of terrestrial facilities. Terrestrial data centres currently consume significant percentages of global electricity and require vast amounts of water or complex HVAC systems for cooling. By moving these processes to orbit, SpaceX intends to utilise the vacuum of space for passive thermal management and the unobstructed path of solar radiation for power generation. This latest filing suggests that the company has reached a technical stage where the mass production and launch of these units are considered economically viable, likely supported by the increased payload capacity of the Starship launch vehicle.
Key Developments in the Federal Filing
The filing submitted on 31 January 2026 provides specific technical details regarding the proposed “Compute-Sat” units. Unlike standard Starlink satellites, which are designed for signal relay, these one million units are described as high-density computing nodes equipped with advanced solar arrays. The primary purpose of these satellites is to provide off-planet processing power for artificial intelligence, scientific research, and global financial systems. TechCrunch reports that the filing emphasises the dual-purpose nature of the hardware, which will act as both a data processor and an energy collector.
SpaceX’s documentation claims that the deployment of one million units is necessary to achieve the redundancy and processing scale required for global-scale operations. The filing specifies that the satellites will operate in multiple orbital shells, ranging from very low Earth orbit (VLEO) to higher altitudes, to ensure continuous coverage and optimal solar exposure. The mention of the Kardashev scale in a federal filing is a notable departure from standard regulatory language. By citing the goal of becoming a Kardashev II-level civilisation, SpaceX is signalling that this project is not merely a commercial venture but a component of a broader civilisational energy strategy. The Kardashev scale, proposed by Soviet astronomer Nikolai Kardashev in 1964, measures a civilisation’s level of technological advancement based on the amount of energy it is able to use. A Type II civilisation can harness the full energy of its sun, typically through structures like a Dyson sphere or a dense swarm of solar collectors.
Technical and Environmental Impacts
The proposal to launch one million satellites presents significant technical and environmental challenges that federal regulators must now evaluate. The most immediate concern cited by industry analysts is the management of orbital traffic and the prevention of collisions. The current number of active satellites in orbit is a small fraction of the proposed one million units. To mitigate the risk of the Kessler Syndrome, a scenario where a cascade of collisions renders space unusable, SpaceX’s filing details an automated collision-avoidance system that utilizes onboard propulsion to steer satellites away from debris and other spacecraft.
Furthermore, the environmental impact of frequent launches required to deploy such a vast number of satellites is a point of scrutiny. The filing suggests that the Starship launch system, which is designed for full reusability, will be the primary vehicle for this deployment. Regulators will need to assess the atmospheric impact of increased launch cadences, specifically regarding carbon emissions and the deposition of soot in the upper atmosphere. Additionally, the astronomical community has previously raised concerns about the brightness of large satellite constellations. SpaceX has stated in the filing that the new data centre satellites will incorporate “VisorSat” technology and other darkening materials to reduce their albedo and minimise interference with ground-based telescopes.
From a technical perspective, the shift to orbital computing addresses the “power wall” faced by terrestrial data centres. In orbit, solar panels can operate without atmospheric interference or the day-night cycle, provided the satellites are placed in specific sun-synchronous orbits or high-altitude shells. The cooling of high-performance processors, which is a major cost and environmental burden on Earth, can be managed in space through radiative cooling, though the efficiency of this in a vacuum remains a subject of technical debate among thermal engineers.
Industry and Scientific Reactions
The reaction to the TechCrunch report has been varied across the aerospace and scientific sectors. Competitors in the satellite internet market, such as Amazon’s Project Kuiper and OneWeb, have not yet issued formal statements, but the scale of the SpaceX filing is expected to prompt a review of competitive strategies. Industry analysts suggest that if SpaceX successfully secures approval for one million data centres, it could establish a near-monopoly on orbital computing resources, creating a new “space-cloud” infrastructure that mirrors the dominance of terrestrial cloud providers.
Members of the scientific community have expressed a mixture of interest and caution. The prospect of a Kardashev II-level energy strategy is viewed by some physicists as a necessary step for the long-term survival of technological civilisation. However, the immediate practicalities of managing one million objects in LEO remain a primary concern for space situational awareness experts. According to reports from TechCrunch, some astronomers remain sceptical that the darkening measures proposed by SpaceX will be sufficient to protect the integrity of deep-space observations. There is also the question of “light pollution” from the sheer volume of hardware, which could alter the appearance of the night sky if not managed correctly.
Regulatory bodies, including the FCC and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), will now begin a multi-year review process. This will involve public comment periods, environmental impact assessments, and consultations with international space agencies. The sheer volume of the request means that the approval process is likely to be the most complex in the history of the FCC’s Space Bureau.
Next Steps and Implementation Timeline
The filing indicates that SpaceX intends to begin the deployment of the first phase of data centre satellites as early as 2027, pending regulatory approval. The rollout is expected to occur in stages over the next decade. The first phase will likely involve a “proof of concept” constellation consisting of several thousand units to test the viability of orbital data processing and the efficiency of the solar-to-compute energy conversion.
The federal government’s response to the filing will be a critical factor in the timeline. The FCC must determine if the proposed constellation serves the public interest and if SpaceX can demonstrate a robust plan for debris mitigation and orbital sustainability. There is also the matter of international coordination. Under the Outer Space Treaty, the United States is responsible for the activities of its commercial entities in space. Therefore, the approval of one million satellites will require significant diplomatic engagement to ensure that other spacefaring nations do not view the move as an infringement on the “Global Commons” of Earth’s orbit.
As of February 2026, the status of the application remains “pending.” SpaceX has not provided a specific cost estimate for the project, though the investment required to manufacture and launch one million satellites is estimated to be in the hundreds of billions of dollars. The company appears to be betting on the continued success and cost-reduction of the Starship programme to make this vision a reality. If approved, this project would represent the most significant shift in space utilisation since the beginning of the space age, moving from observation and communication to active energy and data infrastructure on a planetary scale. Details regarding the specific hardware providers for the data centre components and the initial commercial partners for the computing services remain unclear at this stage.