Elon Musk's SpaceX has applied to launch one million satellites into Earth's orbit to power artificial intelligence (AI). The application claims that "orbital data centres" are the most cost and energy-efficient way to meet the growing demand for AI computing power.

Not just thousands. In an FCC filing, the company mentions deploying up to a staggering 'one million satellites' in orbits ranging from 500 kilometers to 2,000km.

The Tesla CEO claims ‘orbital data centres’ would be the first step towards becoming a civilisation that can harness the sun’s full power’

A merger would give ‌fresh momentum to SpaceX’s effort to launch data centers into orbit as Musk battles for supremacy in the rapidly escalating AI race against tech companies Google, Meta and OpenAI.

Elon Musk’s space exploration company SpaceX (SPACE) has sought U.S. approval for a constellation of a million satellites that could function as orbital data centers without the environmental impact typically associated with ground-based data centers.