Musk Plans a Million Satellites for AI, but the Project Could Be a Disaster — Forbes
Elon Musk plans to launch one million satellites into orbit by 2028 to support artificial intelligence, according to Forbes. At the same time, leading scientists warn that such a large-scale project could lead to the financial collapse of SpaceX due to the extremely high cost of implementation.
The founder of SpaceX sees the future in orbital data centers. His goal is to provide AI for billions of people. However, implementing this plan is too expensive. The company has already launched about 10,000 Starlink satellites.
Each satellite costs $2 million. Scaling this system up to a million units would require astronomical expenses. Experts estimate the budget at $2 trillion, which equals SpaceX’s entire projected value after going public.
Robert Zubrin, a renowned rocket engineer, is skeptical. He has known Musk for over 25 years and warns that this move could derail the businessman’s successful streak.
“Launching an orbital constellation of data centers with a million satellites is a fantasy,” says the scientist.
The technical challenges are no less daunting than the financial ones. Musk promises to launch the giant Starship spacecraft every hour, which means 8,700 flights a year. Currently, SpaceX averages three launches per week.
The project’s economics also raise questions:
- Energy in space costs about $100,000 per kilowatt.
- Ground-based solar panels provide energy at $3,000 per kilowatt.
- Gas generators bring the price down to $1,000.
Ground-based data centers remain much more cost-effective. Musk disagrees.
“In my estimation, within 2–3 years, space will be the cheapest way to generate artificial intelligence computing power,” he stated in a post on the company’s website.
Scientists from Google’s Project Suncatcher are also researching space computing. Their projections are less optimistic than Musk’s charts. Space stations may not become competitive until the mid-2030s.
For this to happen, SpaceX must achieve incredible results. The cost per launch must drop to $200 per kilogram, which is only possible if Starship is fully reusable. The spacecraft’s latest tests have had mixed results: the rocket’s first stage fell into the ocean due to engine failure.
Brian Hurley of “The New Space Economy” agrees with his colleagues. He believes that deploying such networks is only realistic in a decade. Maintenance costs, insurance, and risks must be taken into account. Space is not yet ready to accommodate such a large amount of equipment.
Why does Musk need such a risky plan right now? The answer may lie in a future IPO (initial public offering). Musk wants to make the SpaceX and xAI stock offerings as high-profile as possible and is using the hype surrounding artificial intelligence to do so.
Zubrin is convinced that Musk is playing on investors’ emotions.
“He’s counting on people looking at this and saying, ‘Well, I don’t know if this will really work, but no one has ever lost money betting on Elon Musk,’” the expert concludes.
Currently, SpaceX remains the global leader in the number of launches. It is even ahead of NASA. However, ambitions for a million satellites are putting even the trip to the Moon at risk. Due to delays with Starship, NASA has already begun looking for alternative contractors to land astronauts.
At a security forum in Singapore, AI was called more dangerous than nuclear weapons — Bloomberg
Apple is preparing an updated Siri with AI to compete with ChatGPT
A YouTuber was arrested in South Korea for fake AI audio.
Google’s AI Overview feature generates millions of incorrect answers every hour—NYT.
As a reminder, Japan is replacing humans with robots on a massive scale due to the demographic crisis.
Gemini will also introduce mental health monitoring following lawsuits.
