SpaceX Seeks FCC Approval for 1 Million Orbital AI Satellites in Nvidia-Backed Starmind Project

SpaceX filed with the FCC on January 30, 2026, to deploy up to 1 million satellites in low Earth orbit at 500-2,000 km for its orbital AI data center system, Starmind. The FCC accepted the application for public comment on February 4, 2026. SpaceX requests exemption from NGSO deployment milestones, bonds, and certain 18.3-19.3 GHz and 28.6-29.1 GHz frequency licensing rounds. Nvidia confirmed on August 24, 2026, that first-generation Starmind AI satellites will be built on optimized Vera Rubin NVL72 rack-scale systems. SpaceX said all future AI compute will use Nvidia architecture exclusively, with the first AI satellite slated for launch in Q4 2026 and significant scale by 2028. Costs remain disputed. Wood Mackenzie estimates a hypothetical 1GW orbital data center would cost about $170 billion, over three times a ground equivalent, requiring a 70% cost reduction to reach parity. Morgan Stanley's Adam Jonas projects SpaceX AI-related capital expenditure of roughly $53 billion in 2026 and $130 billion in 2027, about $40 per watt. The 1 million figure is an FCC filing cap, not a deployment target; Starlink filed for 42,000 satellites but operates about 10,000 in orbit.