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Industry

SpaceX orbital data centre plan may need up to 42 launches a day

SpaceX\'s plan for an orbital data centre envisioned as future AI infrastructure is technically feasible, but major obstacles remain before commercialisation, an analysis said. The biggest challenge is building an unprecedented satellite constellation and launch system. The concept includes operating 1 million satellites producing 120 GW and using tens of millions to 100 million GPUs. Analysts cited heavy satellite mass, cooling limits in space, huge manufacturing and network costs, and communications latency as constraints.

AI & Enterprise

Altman revives debate on space data centres, industry says too early

Industry views that space-based data centres are unlikely to become a full-fledged business in the near term resurfaced after a public spat between Sam Altman and Elon Musk. The dispute centres on when orbital data centres could realistically handle AI inference. Supporters cite SpaceX ambitions and Starship’s potential to lower launch costs, but founders, engineers and Google’s orbital computing team say economics and mass production must change first. Many expect a market in the 2030s.

AI & Enterprise

SpaceX AI revenue to come from ground data centres for now, space computing a long game

Analysts say SpaceX\'s artificial intelligence revenue will come from ground-based data centres for now, even as Elon Musk promotes a long-term vision of orbital computing. SpaceX is already providing AI computing services to corporate customers including Anthropic, Google and Reflection AI, with annual revenue from Colossus cluster contracts estimated at more than $28 billion. SpaceX invested about $18 billion last year in AI infrastructure and R&D, while analysts say space data centres face technical hurdles and could take more than 10 years to materialise.