Image: SpaceX
SpaceX’s ambitious plan to put massive amounts of computing power into orbit just cleared a major regulatory hurdle.
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has officially accepted SpaceX’s application for a new non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) satellite system that could ultimately include up to one million satellites, kicking off a public comment period on the proposal. The filing, which the FCC’s Space Bureau confirmed this week via a Public Notice, marks the next step in what SpaceX has described as an “Orbital Data Center” network operating hundreds to thousands of kilometers above Earth.
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr acknowledged the move on X, noting that “the proposed system would serve as a first step towards becoming a Kardashev II-level civilization and serve other purposes, according to the applicant.”
According to the FCC notice, SpaceX is seeking authority to operate satellites at altitudes ranging from roughly 500 km to 2,000 km, using sun-synchronous and inclined orbits. The satellites would rely heavily on high-bandwidth optical inter-satellite links, allowing them to pass data between each other before routing traffic back to Earth via authorized ground stations. SpaceX is also requesting multiple regulatory waivers to fast-track the system, including exemptions from certain NGSO deployment milestones and surety bond requirements.
This filing follows SpaceX’s recent request for FCC approval to deploy more than a million AI-focused satellites in orbit, a plan that hints at turning space into a distributed supercomputing platform. Notably, between SpaceX submitting that application and the FCC accepting it for public comment, the company completed its blockbuster acquisition of Elon Musk’s AI startup xAI — a move that could provide the artificial intelligence backbone needed to make large-scale orbital compute a reality.
The timing is also notable as SpaceX continues to explore a future IPO, while Musk’s other companies increasingly converge around AI and space. Musk has already said Tesla’s next-generation AI chips are being designed with in-orbit workloads in mind, underscoring how central space-based compute is becoming to his broader strategy.
For now, the FCC is inviting public input, with comments due in early March. Whether SpaceX ultimately gets the green light for a constellation of this scale remains to be seen — but the regulatory process is officially underway.
