SpaceX plans to launch its first artificial intelligence (AI) satellite using Nvidia chips as early as the fourth quarter of next year. In the long term, it envisions deploying satellites at scale to build an AI data center in space.
Elon Musk, SpaceX chief executive officer (CEO), said on the 24th (local time) on X that the company is working with Nvidia to design a "Vera Rubin NVL72 system" tailored for the space environment and is targeting its first launch in the fourth quarter of next year. Musk projected that the deployment of AI satellites will expand to a considerable scale in 2028.
The AI satellites SpaceX envisions are a kind of orbital data center that uses solar power to perform computation in space. Based on the prototype design unveiled in June, a single satellite's computing capability is up to 150 kW (kilowatts), and its wingspan is about 70 meters. The compute capacity was presented as roughly comparable to one of Nvidia's GB300 racks for ground data centers.
Musk argues that as the launch expense of the large Starship spacecraft decreases, the cost competitiveness of space-based AI could improve faster than expected. SpaceX has applied to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for approval to launch up to 1 million satellites to build the space data center.