SpaceX is developing a new “Star Mind” program for orbital AI computing, with each spacecraft set to carry more than 250kW of solar power, highlighting the enormous energy requirements behind running advanced computing systems in space.
Elon Musk disclosed the power figure Thursday, saying each Star Mind “super intelligence” spacecraft will pack over 250kW of solar generation.
That would give a single Star Mind spacecraft roughly 20% more solar power than the International Space Station, an unusually large amount of onboard energy for an individual satellite. The ISS comparison also offers a sense of the scale SpaceX appears to be targeting as it explores moving high-performance AI computing infrastructure into orbit.
Star Mind is SpaceX’s emerging program focused on placing AI compute capacity in space, where large solar arrays could provide continuous access to energy without requiring terrestrial power infrastructure. The concept fits into the company’s broader push toward space-based computing, alongside its rapidly expanding satellite manufacturing and launch operations and a Starlink network that Musk has said will carry most of Earth’s internet traffic.
Discussion around the program has also focused on how large these spacecraft could become. Commenter @XFreeze published an analysis estimating that SpaceX satellite designs have grown from about an 11-metre wingspan for Starlink V1.5 to roughly 30 metres for V2 Mini and 60 metres for V3.
The same analysis estimates a future AI1 spacecraft at around 75 metres across, describing it as a “first-generation orbital AI compute satellite.” Those dimensions have not been confirmed by SpaceX and should be treated as analysis rather than official specifications.
Interest in Star Mind quickly spread, with roughly 9,700 posts appearing around the topic as details circulated.
SpaceX has yet to disclose confirmed Star Mind specifications beyond the solar power figure, including computing capacity, satellite mass, deployment plans or when the first spacecraft could launch. Those technical details, along with the size of the planned constellation and how the satellites would handle cooling and data transmission, will help show how ambitious SpaceX’s orbital AI plans ultimately become.
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