Elon Musk has officially announced a long-discussed major plan through his personal social platform. The orbital AI data center project previously disclosed by SpaceX has been officially named Starmind, with a plan to launch up to 1 million computing satellites equipped with AI processing units into orbit. Relying on a large satellite cluster deployed in low Earth orbit, it will directly provide new AI computing power for the ground, completely free from the constraints of traditional data centers.

One satellite's computing power is equivalent to a data center, and its wingspan is wider than a Boeing 747.

SpaceX first announced the first-generation hardware product AI1 of this project on June 8. The design height of a single satellite reaches 20 meters, and the fully unfolded wingspan is as wide as 70 meters. Its overall size far exceeds the fuselage width of the Boeing 747-8 commercial passenger aircraft, making it a giant computing node floating in low Earth orbit. Each AI1 satellite can average 120kW of AI computing power, with a peak of up to 150kW. According to industry calculation standards, the computing power provided by a single satellite is basically equivalent to that of a complete modern AI server rack on the ground. The computing power density per satellite is astonishing.

Optical links in space, global computing loop without ground data centers

In terms of network transmission, all Starmind computing satellites are directly interconnected through high-speed optical links, completing computing scheduling and data exchange. Then, relying on the Starlink constellation's global communication network, the processed data is directly relayed back to ground stations around the world. After the entire technical chain is implemented, SpaceX will effectively connect the orbital computing scheduling, global space communication network, and ground terminal access, forming a closed-loop global AI computing supply system that does not require reliance on traditional ground communication backbone networks or data center infrastructure.

At the beginning of this year, in January, SpaceX had already submitted relevant implementation applications to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission. It is worth noting that the orbital position resources are limited, and the order of satellite launches determines the positioning. The massive plan of one million satellites is bound to trigger intense competition in the global aerospace community.