Elon Musk has never been one for half-measures, but his latest move is astronomical in every sense of the word. SpaceX has filed a request with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to launch a staggering one million satellites into low Earth orbit. The goal? To build a "constellation of orbital data centers" designed to power the voracious appetite of Artificial Intelligence.

The filing, submitted late Friday, outlines a vision that reads like science fiction. Musk argues that the terrestrial power grid simply cannot support the energy demands of future AI models. The solution, according to SpaceX, is to move the compute to space, where solar energy is limitless and the vacuum provides natural cooling for superheated server farms.

A "Kardashev" Leap or Space Junk Nightmare?

Musk framed the initiative as a necessary step for humanity to become a "Kardashev II-level civilization"—one that harnesses the full power of its star. "The satellites will be so far apart it will be hard to see one from another," Musk posted on X, attempting to preempt the inevitable backlash. "Space is vast."

However, astronomers and space safety experts are horrified. With only about 10,000 active satellites currently in orbit (most of them Starlink), adding a million more would fundamentally alter the near-Earth environment.

• The Kessler Syndrome: The risk of a cascading collision event—where one crash creates debris that causes more crashes—becomes a mathematical certainty at this scale. "We are walling ourselves in," warns Dr. Moriba Jah, a space environmentalist. "If this is approved, we risk making low Earth orbit unusable for generations."
• The Geopolitical Race: This is not just about AI; it is about dominance. The move is widely seen as a counter to China, which recently announced its own plans for a "gigawatt-class space digital infrastructure." Musk is effectively staking a claim to the orbital commons before Beijing can establish a foothold.

The AI Energy Crunch

The logic behind the proposal highlights a terrestrial crisis. Data centers on Earth are consuming water and electricity at unsustainable rates. By 2027, AI is projected to consume as much electricity as Argentina. Orbiting data centers, connected via laser links to the ground, could theoretically offer "green" compute power.

But the cost is immense. Launching a million satellites requires a launch cadence that dwarfs current capabilities. It rests entirely on the success of the massive Starship rocket. If approved, Musk isn't just launching satellites; he is launching a new industrial revolution in the sky. The FCC now faces a choice: enable the AI future or protect the night sky. They likely cannot do both.