SpaceX revealed the design of its first orbital data center satellite, called AI1, in a video posted Monday to X $TWTR, offering investors their clearest look yet at the technology central to its upcoming IPO.
The AI1 satellite spans 230 feet and delivers 120 kilowatts of average compute power, drawing on hardware already built for Starlink
JIM WATSON / Getty Images
SpaceX revealed the design of its first orbital data center satellite, called AI1, in a video posted Monday to X $TWTR, offering investors their clearest look yet at the technology central to its upcoming IPO.
Measuring 70 meters (230 feet) tip to tip and standing 20 meters (66 feet) tall when deployed, AI1 is designed to sustain 120 kilowatts of compute output on average and burst to 150 kilowatts at peak draw, with solar panels rated at 150 kilowatts total and an output density of 250 watts per square meter. Thermal management — long considered among the thorniest obstacles for computing in orbit — is handled through a liquid-radiator architecture featuring redundant pumping loops and shielding against micrometeoroid strikes.
CEO Elon Musk said the design draws on technology already developed for the Starlink V3 satellite program. In the video, Musk described the AI satellite's architecture in straightforward terms: "The AI satellite is essentially a lot of solar cells, a radiator, and you still need some laser links, but you don't have all of the super complex antennas that you have on a Starlink satellite. Given the two, the easier one to design for is the AI satellite." While the satellite's hardware architecture is designed to accommodate chips from multiple vendors, Bloomberg reported that CFO Bret Johnsen confirmed Nvidia $NVDA components will power the first units.
Musk also announced a new manufacturing facility called Gigasat in Bastrop, Texas, where SpaceX already produces Starlink user terminals. SpaceX said the Bastrop footprint covers more than 1,000 acres of owned or contracted land and could ultimately support upward of 11 million square feet of manufacturing capacity.
Sources who attended pre-IPO investor presentations say SpaceX has set a late-2027 target for its first orbital compute demonstrations — a timeline that would beat the "as early as 2028" deployment window disclosed in the company's IPO filing. Those earlier missions would serve as proof-of-concept flights to confirm the underlying technology works, rather than marking the start of revenue-generating service, Reuters reported, citing its two sources.
The orbital compute initiative sits at the center of SpaceX's pitch to investors as it targets a $75 billion raise at a $1.75 trillion valuation in what would be the largest IPO in history. The company has filed to deploy up to one million data center satellites and has struck deals with Google $GOOGL and Anthropic to sell access to its compute infrastructure. Shares are set to debut on the Nasdaq $NDAQ this Friday at $135 apiece under the ticker SPCX.
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