Ambitious plan announced
Orbital, a startup barely five months old, has submitted a request to the United States Federal Communications Commission to deploy a constellation of as many as 100,000 satellites that would act as orbital data centers. The company aims to deliver about ten gigawatts of computing capacity from space.
Why the project matters
The explosive growth of artificial‑intelligence workloads is straining terrestrial data‑center capacity. Orbital argues that moving compute to orbit can bypass ground‑based limitations and reduce latency for users worldwide.
Regulatory process
The FCC filing includes technical specifications, frequency usage plans and mitigation measures to protect the orbital environment. Regulators will assess whether the proposed fleet complies with national and international space‑law requirements.
Technical concept
Each satellite is planned to carry modular server units that can be swapped or upgraded in orbit. The aggregate ten‑gigawatt target is comparable to the combined compute power of several major cloud providers.
Future outlook
If the commission grants the necessary permissions, Orbital expects to begin construction of the network within the next few years. The company emphasizes that the venture could not only expand AI‑related compute but also open new business models for space‑based services.