SpaceX has officially registered the Starmind trademark. This name is attached to an ambitious project to create a near-Earth network of one million satellites. According to data from the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC), cited by RBC-Ukraine, the new system will function as a full-fledged orbital data center for artificial intelligence computations.
The company emphasizes that, despite using similar orbital infrastructure, Starmind is fundamentally different from the well-known Starlink system in both purpose and architecture.
From data transmission to computation
The key difference between the two satellite systems lies in the principles of information processing. Starlink is a classic communication network. Its satellites act as transit switches or high-speed space cables: devices receive and forward data packets between ground stations without analyzing their content.
Starmind is being developed as a distributed computing system. Each AI1 model satellite is equipped with powerful onboard processors and massive solar panels. This will allow users to send requests and receive AI-generated responses directly from orbit in milliseconds, completely bypassing ground-based data centers.
Solving the energy crisis
Moving computations beyond the planet is driven by strict physical limitations that ground-based data centers are increasingly facing. Space offers a natural solution to these problems:
- Unlimited solar energy.
- Natural vacuum cooling of equipment.
- No need to obtain regional construction permits.
Elon Musk predicts that within two to three years, space will become the most economically viable location for deploying AI computations in the world.
Technical specifications and launch
The main tool for building the new network will be the reusable Starship rocket system. According to SpaceX estimates, a single launch of the giant launcher will allow the deployment of 30 to 50 AI1 satellites into space. This is equivalent to delivering dozens of heavy server racks to orbit in a single flight.
The technical specifications of the AI1 units are impressive:
- The average power consumption of the computing complex is 120 kW (with peak values up to 150 kW).
- The span of the solar wings reaches about 70 meters.
- The working orbital altitude is 600 km.
Satellites will communicate with each other and with the existing Starlink network using high-speed laser links. The launch of the first two AI1 prototypes is scheduled for early 2027, with mass serial production set to start later that year at the new Gigasat factory.
Commercial prospects
The scope of Starmind will go far beyond servicing the Grok chatbot. SpaceX plans to lease orbital computing power to any commercial clients worldwide, opening a new era of space technology.
