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SpaceX, which listed on the U.S. Nasdaq on Wednesday, has identified space artificial intelligence data centers (AIDC) as the technology to maximize its corporate value. Based on the massive funds raised through this initial public offering (IPO), the company is expected to accelerate building space infrastructure while also speeding up its own procurement of solar cells to supply unlimited energy to these data centers.
According to Park Jun-kyu, a researcher at Samsung Securities, SpaceX executives including the chief financial officer (CFO) and chief operating officer (COO) held a public webinar last Monday. The event featured a variety of questions about future business plans. In the course of answering, securing solar cells was presented as a major challenge for commercializing space data centers.
The specific answer was as follows: "In terms of securing components related to orbital computing satellites, more focus is needed on solar cell procurement capabilities. We are currently building a 10 million-square-foot solar cell production facility on the outskirts of Austin, Texas."
Prior to this, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk posted a video explaining future plans on his X account on Saturday. Musk referred to the experience SpaceX gained in building the Starlink satellite internet system, saying, "Making data center satellites will be simpler than making Starlink satellites for internet service." He added, "AI satellites essentially only need many solar cells, heat sinks, and some laser links," noting that "the very complex antennas that go into Starlink satellites are not needed. The AI satellite is the one that is easier to design."
Combining the webinar and Musk's answers, it can be seen that they self-assessed that there are no technical hurdles to building space AI data centers. The point is that once financing and the component supply chain are properly in place, the establishment of space AIDCs, which had felt distant, could become reality faster than expected.
In this regard, SpaceX has applied to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for permission, saying it will launch up to 1 million satellites carrying semiconductors for AI computing to build a data center in orbit. The plan is for the satellites to be constantly powered by solar energy, adding 100 gigawatts (GW) of AI computing capacity annually.
Currently, tech companies around the world are facing an energy bottleneck in operating AI on the ground. Musk has also pointed to power issues at venues such as the World Economic Forum (WEF) as the biggest obstacle blocking the expansion of AI infrastructure.
Musk's strategy is to transform satellites from mere communication relays into "floating computing nodes" equipped with AI processors. Depending on altitude and orbit, in space, strong sunlight can be directly absorbed continuously for 95 to 99 percent or more of the year, without interference from Earth's day-night cycles, climate, or atmospheric resistance. It is also free from cooling costs and carbon emission regulations, which are chronic problems for ground-based data centers.
However, some point out that cooling will be difficult given the space environment, which differs from the ground. Space is commonly known as an extremely cold space reaching minus 270 degrees Celsius, so it is easy to think, "Won't it cool down on its own if left alone?" But thermal radiation has extremely lower heat transfer efficiency compared to conduction or convection. Analysts say that to release the high heat emitted by servers through radiation alone would require radiators that are unimaginably large and heavy.
In response, SpaceX executives said at the public webinar last Monday: "Basically, radiators are components that do not require high technical difficulty, mostly aluminum and heat pipes, so they do not need special technological innovation, and cooling-related issues are not something we are concerned about internally." They added, "We have not yet fully secured the mass production capability for radiators for orbital computing satellites, but we judge it is not a matter of concern." It can be said that SpaceX's assessment is that there is no technical hurdle, only that supply chain procurement remains insufficient.
Original reporting by Kim Ki-hyuk for Seoul Economic Daily.
AI-translated from Korean. Quotes from foreign sources are based on Korean-language reports and may not reflect exact original wording.
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