Sky and Telescope (27 February 2026)

SpaceX Aims to Launch 1 Million AI Data Center Satellites

To imagine a single orbital data center, start with a low-Earth orbit communications satellite. Move it up to a higher orbit of 1,000 kilometers to put it in a Sun-synchronous orbit that allows continuous access to solar energy. Increase the size of its solar panels and add computers and heavy radiators for cooling. That high orbit is good for powering computers, but it’s bad if you care about dark skies and stargazing. Astronomer John Barentine (Dark Sky Consulting) says that these orbital data centers “would be visible probably all night long over much of the Earth over much of the year.”

Right now, there’s not enough technical detail available to calculate exactly how bright they would be, Barentine adds. But simulations based on the data have alarmed him. “It is so potentially transformational to the night sky that I think it would really endanger the hobby [of stargazing]," he says. The science of astronomy would become far more difficult, too, with increased visual and radio interference from so many satellites.