100,000 Data centers in the sky ? What would that look like ?
A OPINION By Frederick Sinclair
In previous articles we have examined the rapidly expanded launching of telecommunications satellites into low earth orbit (LEO). A six month old company by the name of Space Exploration Holdings LLC, on July 7th filed an application with the FCC for the go ahead to launch an additional ‘Constellation’ of 100,000 data centers into space. The description of being ‘constellation like’ fits, as Extreme Low Earth Orbit (ELEO) involves positioning of the hundred thousand mini data centers in a geometric pattern at varied altitudes between 63 and 282 miles; making at least a dozen of the orbiting units observable/accessible from any location on earth. The extremely low orbital positioning, benefits commercial and military applications by reducing distance of transmission, for less latency (signal delay) and will benefit consumer enterprises, government users (military and surveillance) and billions of AI driven devices around the world. “The data center constellation in space will facilitate the real time decision making and industrial automation of the world.” The Company is affiliated with and will be launching and operating the SpaceX Gen 3 NGSO Satellite System. The authorization to site construct and operate thousands of additional Space X Ground Stations will also be required, in order to send, receive, and route the laser based transfer of data. Existing fiber optic cable and wireless are critical to the constellation function.
Establishing data centers in space is a clever approach to mitigating the problems associated with the proposed huge numbers of data centers on earth. They currently consume thousands of acres of land, divert precious water resources for cooling and consume massive quantities of electricity to run and connect them. Noise and infrasound pollution/vibration/harmonics in the earth, air and Grid are also being identified as environmental and public health impacts. In space, the cooling will be accomplished by the ambient cold in orbit, impact to land sacrifice will be eliminated, other than by increases in Ground stations, and electricity to run the system will be captured by the 100,000 smaller units in orbit , each outfitted with large solar arrays. Newly developed laser like data transfer technologies will connect the units in space and transfer data to and from ground stations that are hooked into existing fiber optic conduits for delivery to towers, arrays, small cells etc. Direct connection to rooftops and specially configured cell phone apps are expected and the application clearly states it is, “A robust, resilient, and ubiquitous communications network with the capacity to handle the majority of the world’s internet traffic”. What an apparently eloquent and ingenious solution. Or is it?
On the Space Exploration Holdings,LLC cover page of the FCC application, under Environmental Impact it states “None”. Let’s start at the beginning. It has been documented that the launching of rockets to position satellites into various orbits, all pollute the atmosphere with ozone layer destroying elements and exhaust particulates that accumulate in the upper atmosphere and can reside there for years. The documented vaporization of rocket second stages as well as dead satellites, vaporize on reentry and add to the loading of the atmosphere with dangerous pollutants. This is the harsh reality which is now slated for exponential growth and catastrophic impact. The FCC has declared these activities not subject to Environmental Impact review under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Congress, the Military and Telecom Industry Cartels, are ruthlessly pushing to accelerate the positioning of satellites and infrastructure in space and on earth. The potentially catastrophic negative and cumulative impacts to the natural resources and life support systems of the planet are being deliberately ignored. We the people should demand that NEPA be implemented and the plus and minus of proposals, for launching massive ‘constellations’ of satellites, be weighed according to established federal law. Any pressure or arbitrary decision to eliminate NEPA review, and a fair weighing of the positive and negative impacts to the environment, is insane.
NOTE: The SPACE Exploration Holdings LLC, complete application to the FCC, APPLICATION TO LAUNCH AND OPERATE THE SPACEX GEN3 NGSO SATELLITE SYSTEM can be found at https://fccprod.servicenowservices.com/icfs?id=ibfs_application_summary&number=SAT-LOA-20260630-00264&ref=broadbandbreakfast.com
The EARTHJUSTICE, DarkSky International, EnvironmentAmerica, and Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility – Petition to Initiate Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement on Orbital Data Center Applications can be found at https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/2026.07.08-petition-for-programmatic-eis.pdf The FCC is obligated by Federal Law to answer the EARTHJUSTICE Petition. We will keep watch as this unfolds.
Fred Sinclair is an Alfred NY writer who opines on subjects you won’t find on the NY Times Editorial Page. Fred is not mainstream in any sense, and his opinions are his own. You can contact him anytime, fpsinclair@yahoo.com
