SpaceX advances orbital data center plan despite astronomer warnings of satellite interference

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk defended the company’s proposal to place data‑center payloads in low‑Earth orbit, arguing that orbital space can be managed responsibly and could relieve the land and energy constraints of terrestrial data centres. The firm currently operates about 10,600 active Starlink satellites and has logged several moderate‑risk conjunction events for June 2026.

SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell said the first AI1 orbital‑data‑center satellites are expected to launch in 2027, after test “canary” units are added to existing Starlink broadband and mobile satellites. The AI1 design would be roughly 70 m long and 20 m tall when deployed, generate up to 150 kW of peak power and carry a 120 kW computing payload, and use laser links to the Starlink network. Production facilities are being built in Bastrop, Texas.

Astronomers warned the larger, brighter satellites could further impair optical and radio observations, noting that existing Starlink V2 Mini satellites already exceed recommended brightness limits. They fear the proposed constellation of up to one million data‑center satellites would exacerbate these effects.