SpaceX 1 million satellite applications approved

On February 4th, local time, Brendan Carr, Chairman of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC), posted on social media stating: “The FCC welcomes SpaceX’s application for orbital data centers and is now seeking public comments.”

“According to the application, the satellite system to be launched will be the first step toward a Kardashev Type II civilization and can achieve other objectives,” Brendan Carr mentioned.

The satellite application accepted by the FCC was submitted by SpaceX on January 30th. It involves “a satellite constellation with unprecedented computing power that can support advanced AI models and related applications.” This satellite system will include up to 1 million satellites, establishing an orbital data center network around the Earth.

According to foreign media reports, typically, the FCC takes several weeks or even months to respond. However, in this case, the FCC made a decision within just a few days, surprising many with the speed of approval.

Brendan Carr attached an announcement of the acceptance and public consultation on social media. The announcement reiterated the details of SpaceX’s application, the satellite system description, and the rules for exemptions requested by SpaceX. The deadline for public comments is March 6, 2026.

The orbital data center proposed by SpaceX aims to accommodate the explosive growth of data driven by AI, machine learning, and edge computing. It will provide the computational capacity needed for large-scale AI inference and data center applications, serving billions of users worldwide. The satellites within the system will operate within a narrow orbital shell no wider than 50 kilometers (leaving enough space to avoid conflicts with other systems with similar objectives).

These satellites will operate in “sun-synchronous orbits at altitudes of 500 to 2000 kilometers with a 30-degree inclination,” directly utilizing nearly constant solar energy, requiring almost no operational or maintenance costs, thereby achieving revolutionary cost reductions and energy efficiency improvements, while significantly reducing the environmental impact caused by ground-based data centers.

This satellite system will heavily rely on high-bandwidth optical link communications and connect with the “Starlink” constellation, utilizing existing satellite internet systems to transmit data to ground stations.

Currently, SpaceX’s “Starlink” satellite internet constellation has launched over 10,000 satellites. The scale of 1 million satellites far exceeds “Starlink.” Skepticism about the feasibility of this plan has been raised, along with concerns about space debris, atmospheric pollution, and other issues.

(Source: Shanghai Securities News)