Spacecommercial News

Starcloud pitches 88,000-satellite space data center constellation

Starcloud has filed with the FCC to operate up to 88,000 low‑Earth‑orbit satellites to serve as orbital data centers for AI and other computing needs, placing them in dusk‑dawn sun‑synchronous shells at 600–850 km. The plan envisions intersatellite optical links and Ka‑band telemetry/control, with safety measures including coordination with other operators and full demisability on reentry. Starcloud‑1 has already flown a small satellite with an Nvidia H100 processor; Starcloud‑2 is planned for 2027, and there are concepts for Starcloud‑3 and Starcloud‑4, including a massive satellite array with multi‑kilometer dimensions. The Starcloud filing would create a constellation far larger than existing systems like Starlink (about 10,000 satellites) but smaller than SpaceX’s unfunded one‑million‑satellite proposal.