Aaron Burnett
@aaronburnett · Jan 20, 2026
2026 will see a lot of articles commenting on SpaceX's orbital data center (ODCs) plans. like this one, most will contain little to no depth, reference expert skeptics and certainly zero first principles.
I'd highly suggest arming yourself with actual math and physics backed
Axios@axios· Jan 19, 2026BEHIND THE CURTAIN: Elon Musk believes SpaceX has cracked the code on building orbiting data centers to power AI — and plans to fund the audacious vision through its IPO.
Musk and other top AI execs believe that earthbound data centers will become politically toxic and less
Elon Musk
@elonmusk
Your analysis is excellent for an organization that doesn’t design, build and fly thousands of satellites.
Within a few iterations, we can probably get AI satellites to <100kW/ton, inclusive of all components, especially if the GPU is designed to operate at ~370 Kelvin.
06:15 PM · January 20, 2026 · 478K views
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