"SpaceX filed a request with the FCC on Friday seeking approval to put a constellation of 1 million data center satellites into orbit. While the FCC is unlikely to approve a network that expansive, SpaceX's strategy has been to request approval for unrealistically large numbers of satellites as a starting point for negotiations. The filing proposes establishing a network of solar-powered data centers in low Earth orbit that communicate with one another via lasers."
"Even if just a small fraction of those 1 million satellites wind up in orbit, it would mark a significant increase in the number of man-made objects in space. The European Space Agency estimates there are around 15,000 satellites orbiting the Earth at the moment, and the majority are Starlink. (Over 11,000 of them, according to Johnathan's Space Report.) When experts are already concerned about the abundance of space junk and potential for orbital collisions, such an explosion of objects in orbit would seem ill-advised."
SpaceX filed with the FCC to deploy a constellation of one million orbital data-center satellites. The proposal envisions solar-powered, laser-linked servers in low Earth orbit and frames the concept in ambitious, sci-fi terms mentioning Kardashev II-level civilization. SpaceX often requests unrealistically large satellite counts as negotiation starting points. Even a small fraction of the proposed satellites would dramatically increase the number of man-made objects in orbit beyond current estimates of roughly 15,000, raising space-debris and collision concerns. SpaceX argues orbital data centers could reduce terrestrial environmental impacts by radiating heat to space and relying primarily on solar power.
Read at The Verge
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