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Is it an orbital land grab? Or simply shooting for the moon?
SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell is indicating the company’s ambitious orbital data center plan might never actually reach 1 million satellites, but she's intentionally setting the ceiling high.
“I don't know that we'll get to a million, but it's much easier to ask at the beginning and then march towards the goal,” she told Time magazine in a newly published interview.
SpaceX's proposal to launch 1 million satellites is under review at the Federal Communications Commission. However, some astronomers, environmentalists, and members of the public have opposed the proposal over concerns that it will lead to widespread light pollution, potentially harm the atmosphere, and increase space safety risks around Earth.
Shotwell, who spoke to Time on Feb. 13, said she was "surprised" the company's FCC request didn't make major waves. "I thought for sure that would get a lot of news."
(Credit: SpaceX)Her thinking may have changed. SpaceX’s orbital data center plans have since grabbed more headlines, especially after CEO Elon Musk announced a massive “Terafab” factory to build chips for them. He also says each satellite will be longer than the International Space Station.
Since the interview, rival Blue Origin filed its own plan for orbiting data centers with a 51,600-satellite constellation. Another startup, Starcloud, is also preparing its own 88,000-satellite constellation. Nvidia is also developing AI chips for space.
SpaceX is already at the front of the line to secure regulatory approval for orbiting data centers. However, Shotwell noted that not all the satellites will necessarily orbit the Earth. “Putting them around Earth, probably around the Moon, and then maybe ultimately, around the Sun would be incredible,” she said in the interview.
Musk has also talked about building the satellites on the Moon using a future lunar base, which suggests the orbital data center plans are more of a long-term project. Shotwell noted: “The gravitational pull on the Moon is much less, about a sixth of what it is on Earth, so if we're building these satellites on the Moon with elements and materials from the Moon, it would be much faster and cheaper [to launch them].”
She also addressed concerns about orbital congestion. “We will do what's necessary to be safe. There'll be many shells of these AI satellites, some even potentially around the Sun," she said.
In addition, SpaceX recently told the FCC that it plans on starting small to monitor for potential atmospheric impacts before scaling up. Its 32-page rebuttal came after its proposal received over 1,400 public comments—much of them negative—in the FCC’s online filing system.
SpaceX’s argument irked some critics, who say the company did nothing to address their concerns. “SpaceX asks, in effect, that the Commission simply trust its assurances while providing little in the way of evidence to support them,” the Center for Space Environmentalism told the FCC earlier this week. “In requesting these waivers, SpaceX is essentially asking the American public to underwrite the environmental risk of their private AI venture.”