February 8, according to TechCrunch, recently, Elon MuskAccording to Patrick Collison's podcast Cheeky Pint, the core advantage of an orbital data centre lies in the cost of energy: the same solar panels are inSpaceThe power generation is about five times greater, so it is " easier to expand in space than on the ground"。
However, Dwarkesh Patel, a guest, pointed out that data centre costs far more than energy and that GPU maintenance is more difficult in the orbital environment, and that Mask did not provide a complete response to these questions。
SpaceX submitted to the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) last week a data centre network plan for millions of satellites, which the outside world thought was a joke, but this week with SpaceX and xAI THE IDEA OF A FORMAL MERGER, AS WELL AS THE FACT THAT THE FCC HAS PROCESSED APPLICATIONS AND STARTED A PROCESS OF OPINION-GATHERING, IS BEING RAPIDLY PUSHED INTO REALITY。
FCC Chair Brendan Carr even volunteered to share relevant documents on X, indicating that at least the regulatory level would not be short-term resistance。
Despite the logical gaps, Mask gave a clear timetable。
He stated that 2028 would be the turning point of the orbital data centre。
IN THE NEXT 36 MONTHS, PROBABLY CLOSER TO 30, PUTTING AI IN SPACE WILL BE THE MOST ECONOMICALLY ATTRACTIVE OPTION。
HE EVEN PREDICTED THAT THE NUMBER OF AI CALCULATIONS DEPLOYED IN SPACE IN FIVE YEARS' TIME WOULD EXCEED THE SUM OF THE EARTH'S HISTORY。
In the industrial context, global data centre capacity is expected to reach about 200 GW in 2030, corresponding to nearly trillion-dollar infrastructure inputs. Mask's presentation undoubtedly provided a grand narrative for the forthcoming IPO for SpaceX-XAI and created a new source of demand for SpaceX's launch。