SpaceX formalizes plan to build 1 million satellite Orbital Data Center System — FCC filing sketches out plans, but over-packed orbits could be limiting factor

News
By published

A recent Russian satellite impact fragmentation event rekindles concerns about Kessler Syndrome.

SpaceX Starlink satellites launching
(Image credit: SpaceX)

A SpaceX FCC filing said that it plans to put a million satellites in orbit to build an Orbital Data Center system. The company said in the document that these will support AI, machine learning, and edge computing applications, taking advantage of the sun's energy without interference from the Earth’s atmosphere.

“Launching a constellation of a million satellites that operate as orbital data centers is a first step towards becoming a Kardashev II-level civilization — one that can harness the Sun’s full power — while supporting AI-driven application for billions of people today and ensuring humanity’s multi-planetary future amongst the stars,” the company wrote in its filing.

The filing went on to explain, “To deliver the compute capacity required for large-scale AI inference and data center applications serving billions of users globally, SpaceX aims to deploy a system of up to one million satellites to operate within narrow orbiting shells spanning up to 50 km (over 31 miles) each (leaving sufficient room to deconflict against other systems with comparable ambitions). This system will operate between 500 km and 2,000 km (310 miles and nearly 1,250 miles) altitude and 30 degrees and sun-synchronous orbit inclinations.”

The Kardashev scale measures the advancement of a particular civilization based on how it harvests energy. A Type I civilization uses all available energy on its own planet, which barely puts humanity and its current technology just below this level. On the other hand, a Type II civilization directly harvests energy from its nearby star, while Type III captures all the energy produced inside its galaxy.

The risk of Kessler Syndrome

While Elon Musk's plans to launch a million satellites into orbit come into view, a former Russian geostationary satellite has reportedly broken up in space. According to Space.com, the Luch/Olympic satellite, which the Russians use to observe other satellites in orbit, has recently been decommissioned and brought up to a graveyard orbit above its former geostationary altitude of more than 35,000 km or nearly 22,000 miles.

However, ground observers noticed the unit has fragmented, likely due to an external impact (see time-lapse video, embedded above). This incident produced more debris that is now orbiting the earth, which could collide with other satellites, further exacerbating the space junk problem.

Many experts are concerned about an event wherein multiple space collisions would produce so much debris that it would make it impossible to launch satellites or even keep them operating in orbit. SpaceX’s current fleet of 9,000 satellites already has experts concerned, especially as its competitors are also considering launching their own constellations.

Musk’s plan to launch a million satellites is likely a nightmare scenario for many scientists, as this would put the risk of a Kessler Syndrome event several magnitudes more plausible. Moreover, under such a cascade of space debris, humanity could effectively become trapped on Earth for generations, dashing the billionaire’s dream of landing astronauts on Mars.

Google Preferred Source

Follow 3DTested on Google News, or add us as a preferred source, to get our latest news, analysis, & reviews in your feeds.

Jowi Morales
Jowi Morales
Contributing Writer
18 Comments Comment from the forums
  • LordVile
    And why can’t you just do that terrestrially?
    Reply
  • COLGeek
    More space junk...great. Remember, at some point, what goes up must come down.

    What could possibly go wrong with this plan? <dripping with sarcasm>

    Considering the source, absurdity is becoming the dominant part of the things they dream up.
    Reply
  • Shiznizzle
    We are fast approaching a Kessler event and the inability to spot incoming asteroids.

    Scientists stated years ago that there is so much junk up there that it was causing issues for them. Nobody listens.

    Maybe not being able to place anything at all into orbit for the next 200 years will sharpen their resolve to not place too much junk up there or at least give it the means to deorbit itself and burn up.
    Reply
  • bit_user
    IMO, it's just SpaceX trying to cash in on the AI datacenter boom. We won't have to worry about this actually coming to fruition, assuming the AI bubble pops anytime soon.

    LordVile said:
    And why can’t you just do that terrestrially?
    Well, the AI datacenter building boom is running into all sorts of hurdles related to electricity supply, as well as some issues with finding suitable sites. I think their pitch is basically to avoid all of those issues by launching mini datacenter satellites where power & cooling aren't limited and (so far) there's abundant space (excuse the pun).
    Reply
  • bit_user
    Shiznizzle said:
    Scientists stated years ago that there is so much junk up there that it was causing issues for them. Nobody listens.
    It's a classic "tragedy of the commons" scenario.
    Https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragedy_of_the_commons
    Nobody listens, because it's not in anyone's interest to hold back, so long as the others aren't. The space race is hot enough that nobody wants to sign any more binding treaties. Without those, incentives won't change and we can expect only to see more of the same behavior we witnessed thus far.
    Reply
  • FunSurfer
    We need a satellite with laser cannon that can detect and push debris back to the atmosphere. Heating debris from one side will cause gases to eject from that side and push the debris to the other side, so it will totally burn in the atmosphere. If the debris rotates, pulses of laser with timing will heat the same side.
    Reply
  • bit_user
    FunSurfer said:
    We need a satellite with laser cannon that can detect and push debris back to the atmosphere. Heating debris from one side will cause gases to eject from that side and push the debris to the other side, so it will totally burn in the atmosphere. If the debris rotates, pulses of laser with timing will heat the same side.
    Interesting idea. I think most debris will just start spinning because its irregular shape or composition will mean it'd burn in an irregular way. If you keep hitting it, after it starts spinning, it'll just spin faster and faster. Maybe a strong enough laser could completely burn up debris particles that are small enough.

    For larger bits of debris, you could make some sort of interceptor that tries to match their orbit and catches them. For smaller particles, perhaps one solution would be some kind gel block that you could use to trap them. Perhaps there's some formulation of gel that would slowly disintegrate in the solar wind, so that chunks which break off don't become yet more space debris. Once enough debris has been collected (or the gel becomes too degraded), you de-orbit it.

    The cleanup would need to focus on specific orbits. Otherwise, it'd be too big of a job.
    Reply
  • alan.campbell99
    Flag under Elon says <x> crazy thing. I think it's unreasonable for the reasons others have already cited, I'd also add he was asked about the sheer launch cadence this endeavour would require
    I've often wondered about orbital clean up myself, it seems very necessary and should be taken seriously and responsibility assigned. Think one of my sillier ideas a while back was a membrane or rigid surface that could deflect the smallest junk down to burn up. These small pieces are probably the worst because of detection challenges.
    Reply
  • bit_user
    alan.campbell99 said:
    Flag under Elon says <x> crazy thing.
    Not exactly. This time, it's submitting a concrete plan in writing, to gain regulatory approval. So, that's definitely more serious than Elon just tweeting something on social media or running his mouth in some other public forum.

    Alan.campbell99 said:
    Think one of my sillier ideas a while back was a membrane or rigid surface that could deflect the smallest junk down to burn up. These small pieces are probably the worst because of detection challenges.
    I think the kinetic energy of the particles is too high not to destroy whatever you're trying to bounce them off of.
    Reply
  • blppt
    I guess Elon is just embracing his inner Mr. Burns and at some point intends to just block out the sun.
    Reply