(Andriy Onufriyenko via Getty)
The Federal Communications Commission seems eager to let SpaceX experiment with massive data centers in space. On Wednesday, Chairman Brendan Carr tweeted, "The FCC welcomes and now seeks comment on the SpaceX application for Orbital Data Centers."
SpaceX’s application to launch up to one million satellites has been accepted by the agency, kicking off a public comment period. The announcement is surprising because the company only submitted its proposal on Friday. Usually, the FCC takes weeks or months to respond. In this case, it made a decision in days, even though SpaceX’s proposal appears preliminary and even rushed, according to space experts, some of whom question the constellation’s feasibility.
For perspective, only 14,500 satellites are currently in orbit. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk now wants to dramatically increase that number by about 70 times, raising questions about the environmental toll from the required rocket launches and the potential for space debris.
The FCC may have acted fast because SpaceX’s application urged it to “expeditiously authorize” the one million satellite plan. “In short, the sooner the SpaceX Orbital Data Center system is licensed for its limited use of the requested spectrum, the sooner this spectrum can support a revolutionary space platform that will benefit humanity,” SpaceX said.
In addition, the commission has made it a priority to fast track its satellite approval process to help the US counter China’s satellite ambitions. “It’s space race 2.0. The CCP [Chinese Communist Party] is aggressively pursuing space dominance. They want to beat us to the orbits,” FCC Space Bureau Chief Jay Schwarz said in November.
A month earlier, Carr himself said the FCC was moving to a "'Default to No' process with a ‘Default to Yes’ framework," for at least some satellite plans.
Accepting the application doesn’t mean the FCC will approve SpaceX’s proposal. It will almost certainly face a wave of critiques from rival companies and interest groups, which will likely include environmentalists and astronomers. The FCC will then review the comments as it considers whether to grant or deny the application. It’s also possible SpaceX could amend the proposal or that the FCC only grants a portion of the proposed satellites.
Any interested party can weigh in on SpaceX’s plan during the initial comment period, which lasts until March 6. Comments are accepted via the FCC’s International Communications Filing System, which is free, but requires you to register. Look for the ICFS’s “pleading and comments” function and refer to “SAT-LOA-20260108-00016,” the official ID for SpaceX’s application, in any submissions. The exact filing rules can be found in the FCC's announcement.
In the meantime, some on social media applauded Carr for moving quickly on the application while others questioned it. "Why is the FCC Chairman advertising for Elon?" wrote one user on X.
Despite the skepticism, Musk continues to tout the benefits of putting data centers in Earth's orbit. He's betting that his company can stage numerous Starship launches in the future to build a constellation of one million satellites at a relatively rapid rate. He argues that the satellites would harness the energy of the Sun, rather than straining the energy grid on Earth.
"So it's actually much cheaper to do it in space," Musk said in a new interview with the Cheeky Pint podcast. "My prediction is that it will be by far the cheapest place to put AI will be space in 36 months or less."