On June 9, according to Bloomberg, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk announced more details on Monday about the initial version of the AI data center satellite he plans to build, providing more information for this ambitious project. SpaceX is expected to go public later this week, and the orbital data center is an important selling point in the company's IPO promotion.
Musk
According to a 30-minute video shared by SpaceX on social media
Musk also released a rendering with specifications showing what SpaceX calls the "AI1" satellite. This is the first version of the AI data center satellite the company plans to build, which will become part of its network of approximately 1 million satellites used to perform complex AI computing tasks in Earth orbit.
SpaceX’s AI1 satellite specs
Musk pointed out that this early version of the satellite is equipped with huge solar panels, with a wingspan of 230 feet (about 70 meters), and an average computing load capacity of 120 kilowatts, with a peak capacity of 150 kilowatts.
Musk mentioned SpaceX's experience in building Starlink Internet systems and claimed that manufacturing such data center satellites will be simpler than building Starlink satellites. He said in the video: "AI satellites are essentially a large number of solar panels, radiators, and some laser links, but they do not require complex antenna systems like Starlink satellites. Between the two, the AI satellite is easier to design."
Gigasat factory
In addition, Musk also introduced SpaceX’s giant expansion plan for its factory in Bastrop, Texas. Currently, the factory mainly produces user terminal equipment for the Starlink system. In the slides presented by Musk, the project was named "Gigasat." The facility will be more than 11 million square feet and cover more than 1,000 acres. Gigasat will consist of multiple large warehouses used to produce the large solar panels needed for data center satellites.