{ "as_of_date": "2026-09-27", "honesty": [ "Every date, count and figure below is taken from a linked source; where sources disagree the row says so. Nothing is estimated.", "in_orbit_spacecraft counts spacecraft carrying compute hardware that is in space on the as-of date. Hosted payloads on another programme's satellites are not counted twice: Axiom's two nodes ride on Kepler's ten.", "filed_or_planned_satellites is the number in the programme's own filing or stated target. It is a number on paper. It is printed beside the flown number so it cannot be read alone.", "Statuses change at launch. A launch is not commissioning and commissioning is not first inference; a row moves to operating only when a source reports the hardware working.", "Programmes with unverified purpose (CTC-1/2, Space Compass) are listed with their purpose left blank rather than assigned to orbital compute." ], "programmes": [ { "claimed": "Zhejiang Lab: a thousand-satellite constellation at 1,000 POPS. ADA Space: 2,800 Star Compute satellites (2,400 inference, 400 training). Two programmes' targets, often spliced into one figure; neither is hardware.", "confidence": "verified", "country": "China", "country_code": "CN", "filed_or_planned_satellites": 2800, "first_launch": "2025-05-14", "id": "three-body", "in_orbit_now": "12 satellites, launched together on one Long March 2D from Jiuquan on 2025-05-14. Each carries a neural-processing payload rated 744 TOPS; the twelve are stated at 5 POPS with 30 TB of on-board storage and 100 Gbps laser inter-satellite links, and run an 8-billion-parameter remote-sensing model on board. Xinhua reported in February 2026 that nine months of in-orbit testing had concluded. The largest verified AI compute in orbit anywhere.", "in_orbit_spacecraft": 12, "name": "Three-Body Computing Constellation / Star Compute", "next_milestone": "Further groups reported in preparation through 2026", "operator": "Zhejiang Lab (initiator); satellites built by ADA Space (Guoxing Aerospace), whose own Star Compute programme shares the first launch", "sources": [ "https://english.www.gov.cn/news/202505/15/content_WS6825452ec6d0868f4e8f28e6.html", "https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3310506/china-launches-satellites-start-building-worlds-first-supercomputer-orbit", "https://satnews.com/2026/02/16/china-completes-in-orbit-testing-of-three-body-ai-computing-constellation/", "https://www.computerworld.com/article/3990472/china-takes-edge-computing-to-orbit-with-first-space-based-processing-network.html" ], "status": "operating" }, { "claimed": "NVIDIA: '100x more powerful GPU compute than any previous space-based operation' — a relative claim against a low bar; no absolute compute or power figure published.", "confidence": "verified", "country": "United States", "country_code": "US", "filed_or_planned_satellites": null, "first_launch": "2025-11-02", "id": "starcloud-1", "in_orbit_now": "One 60 kg satellite carrying a single NVIDIA H100, launched 2025-11-02 on SpaceX Bandwagon-4. Tracked as NORAD 66303 at about 499 km — not the 325 km repeated in pre-launch press. In December 2025 it trained a nanoGPT model in orbit and ran Google's Gemma. Design life about eleven months; at roughly 500 km with no documented deorbit propulsion, natural reentry is years away, so 'burns up in October 2026' is a press number, not an orbital one.", "in_orbit_spacecraft": 1, "name": "Starcloud-1", "next_milestone": null, "operator": "Starcloud (formerly Lumen Orbit)", "sources": [ "https://www.starcloud.com/starcloud-1", "https://blogs.nvidia.com/blog/starcloud/", "https://www.cnbc.com/2025/12/10/nvidia-backed-starcloud-trains-first-ai-model-in-space-orbital-data-centers.html", "https://spaceflightnow.com/2025/11/01/live-coverage-commercial-space-station-demo-data-center-precursor-to-launch-on-spacex-bandwagon-mission/" ], "status": "operating" }, { "claimed": "'Up to 88,000 satellites'; a hypothetical Starcloud-4 with solar arrays 'four kilometers on a side to support a five-gigawatt data center', from a promotional video.", "confidence": "probable", "country": "United States", "country_code": "US", "filed_or_planned_satellites": 88000, "first_launch": null, "id": "starcloud-constellation", "in_orbit_now": "Nothing of the constellation. Starcloud filed with the FCC on 2026-02-03 for up to 88,000 satellites at 600–850 km sun-synchronous; the FCC accepted the filing for consideration on 2026-03-13, a docketing step, not an authorisation. Starcloud-2 — NVIDIA Blackwell hardware, an AWS Outposts blade and bitcoin-mining ASICs — was due in October 2026 and is now expected in 2027 as one of a pair. Funding is real: $170M Series A at a $1.1B valuation (2026-03-30) and $250M at $2.3B (2026-08-21).", "in_orbit_spacecraft": 0, "name": "Starcloud constellation (Starcloud-2 onward; 88,000-satellite filing)", "next_milestone": "Starcloud-2, expected 2027", "operator": "Starcloud", "sources": [ "https://spacenews.com/starcloud-files-plans-for-88000-satellite-constellation/", "https://www.advanced-television.com/2026/03/17/starcloud-wants-88000-satellites/", "https://www.geekwire.com/2026/orbital-ai-seattle-area-startup-starcloud-hits-1-1b-valuation-to-build-space-based-data-centers/", "https://cryptobriefing.com/starcloud-bitcoin-mining-space-launch/" ], "status": "announced" }, { "claimed": "Bench demonstration of 800 Gbps each-way optical links (1.6 Tbps total); solar 'up to 8 times more productive than on earth'; an 81-satellite formation as a design study.", "confidence": "verified", "country": "United States", "country_code": "US", "filed_or_planned_satellites": 81, "first_launch": null, "id": "suncatcher", "in_orbit_now": "Nothing yet. The first prototype, MVP, is a refrigerator-sized satellite built by Planet Labs carrying four Google TPUs on about one kilowatt of solar — Google's own comparison is one data-centre server. It is manifested on SpaceX Transporter-18, launch window opening 2026-10-01 at 11:18 PT from Vandenberg. About a year of operations is planned, in compute bursts of roughly fifteen minutes before thermal shutdown; the spacecraft remains in orbit for years beyond that. Two satellites to test laser links are planned for 2027. Google: 'We don't expect, to be perfectly frank, that we'll have anything usefully operational in the next few years.'", "in_orbit_spacecraft": 0, "name": "Project Suncatcher (MVP prototype)", "next_milestone": "MVP launch NET 2026-10-01 on Transporter-18", "operator": "Google Research; spacecraft built by Planet Labs", "sources": [ "https://research.google/blog/exploring-a-space-based-scalable-ai-infrastructure-system-design/", "https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/technology/research/google-project-suncatcher/", "https://www.space.com/space-exploration/satellites/spacex-launching-prototype-google-ai-satellite-next-week", "https://qz.com/google-project-suncatcher-tpu-satellite-spacex-orbit-092426" ], "status": "awaiting-launch" }, { "claimed": "'Kilowatts to megawatts of processing power on-orbit' as a future goal.", "confidence": "verified", "country": "United States", "country_code": "US", "filed_or_planned_satellites": null, "first_launch": "2026-01-11", "hosted_on": "kepler", "id": "axiom-odc", "in_orbit_now": "Two things, both small. AxDCU-1, a data-processing prototype running Red Hat Device Edge, aboard the International Space Station since autumn 2025 — a box on a crewed station. And two orbital-data-centre nodes hosted as payloads on Kepler Communications' first ten relay satellites, launched 2026-01-11. Axiom publishes no compute, storage or power figure for either; its one number, 2.5 Gbps, is link bandwidth.", "in_orbit_spacecraft": 0, "name": "Axiom Space Orbital Data Centers (AxDCU-1 and two ODC nodes)", "next_milestone": null, "operator": "Axiom Space; nodes hosted on Kepler Communications satellites; partners Red Hat, Skyloom", "sources": [ "https://www.axiomspace.com/orbital-data-center", "https://www.axiomspace.com/release/axiom-space-to-launch-orbital-data-center-nodes-to-support-national-security-commercial-international-customers", "https://spacenews.com/axiom-space-to-launch-orbital-data-centers-on-kepler-satellites/" ], "status": "demonstrated" }, { "claimed": "'Multi-GPU' and 'terabytes' — the whole public specification.", "confidence": "verified", "country": "Canada", "country_code": "CA", "filed_or_planned_satellites": null, "first_launch": "2026-01-11", "id": "kepler", "in_orbit_now": "Ten satellites of about 300 kg, launched 2026-01-11 on a Falcon 9 from Vandenberg, each with SDA-compatible optical terminals and, per Kepler, 'multi-GPU on-orbit compute modules with terabytes of storage'. The physical host for Axiom's two nodes, and rarely counted as orbital compute because Kepler sells it as a relay network. No GPU model, count, FLOPS or power figure is published.", "in_orbit_spacecraft": 10, "name": "Kepler Communications optical relay constellation (on-orbit compute modules)", "next_milestone": null, "operator": "Kepler Communications", "sources": [ "https://kepler.space/kepler-successfully-launches-first-tranche-of-optical-relay-satellites/", "https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/01/11/3216480/0/en/kepler-successfully-launches-first-tranche-of-optical-relay-satellites.html", "https://satnews.com/2026/02/09/63641/" ], "status": "operating" }, { "claimed": "Continuous commercial service 'in 2026' (Lonestar). Nothing on or near the Moon is operating.", "confidence": "verified", "country": "United States", "country_code": "US", "filed_or_planned_satellites": null, "first_launch": "2024-02-15", "id": "lonestar", "in_orbit_now": "Nothing operating. Independence flew on Intuitive Machines' IM-1 Odysseus (launched 2024-02-15) and completed the first data-storage test from the lunar surface on 2024-02-22. Freedom — an 8 TB Phison SSD with a Microchip PolarFire RISC-V processor running Linux, in an enclosure designed by Bjarke Ingels Group — flew on IM-2 Athena (launched 2025-02-26), completed tests in transit and lunar orbit, and landed with the lander on its side on 2025-03-06; the mission was declared over on 2025-03-07.", "in_orbit_spacecraft": 0, "name": "Lonestar Data Holdings lunar data storage (Independence, Freedom)", "next_milestone": null, "operator": "Lonestar Data Holdings, flying on Intuitive Machines landers", "sources": [ "https://www.lonestarlunar.com/press-release/lonestar-announces-freedom", "https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/lonestars-lunar-data-center-successfully-launches-on-intuitive-machines-athena-mission/", "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IM-2" ], "status": "demonstrated" }, { "claimed": "'Up to 1,000,000' satellites; 'hundreds of gigawatts' of potential compute — projections in a filing.", "confidence": "verified", "country": "United States", "country_code": "US", "filed_or_planned_satellites": 1000000, "first_launch": null, "id": "starmind", "in_orbit_now": "Nothing. SpaceX applied to the FCC on 2026-01-30 for up to 1,000,000 satellites at 500–2,000 km; the application was accepted for filing on 2026-02-04 and is pending. The programme was named Starmind in June 2026. On 2026-08-04 SpaceX and NVIDIA announced that the first-generation AI1 satellite would carry Vera CPUs and Rubin GPUs — about 72 chips, one NVL72 rack per satellite, 250 kW peak — with prototypes targeted for early 2027 and volume production later that year.", "in_orbit_spacecraft": 0, "name": "SpaceX Starmind (AI1 satellite; million-satellite filing)", "next_milestone": "AI1 prototypes targeted for early 2027", "operator": "SpaceX, with NVIDIA compute payloads", "sources": [ "https://satnews.com/2026/01/31/spacex-files-fcc-application-for-million-satellite-orbital-data-center/", "https://spacenews.com/spacex-files-plans-for-million-satellite-orbital-data-center-constellation/", "https://interestingengineering.com/ai-robotics/spacex-nvidia-starmind-ai1-compute-payload", "https://www.technology.org/2026/08/26/spacex-starmind-nvidia-gpus-orbital-data-centers/" ], "status": "announced" }, { "claimed": "51,600 satellites; a lower 'marginal cost of compute capacity compared to terrestrial alternatives' (the filing).", "confidence": "verified", "country": "United States", "country_code": "US", "filed_or_planned_satellites": 51600, "first_launch": null, "id": "blue-origin-sunrise", "in_orbit_now": "Nothing. Blue Origin filed with the FCC on 2026-03-19 for up to 51,600 satellites in sun-synchronous orbits at 500–1,800 km that would themselves be the data centres, linked optically, with Ka-band for telemetry. NASA has filed an objection. Distinct from TeraWave, Blue Origin's 5,408-satellite communications constellation announced 2026-01-21 for a first launch in late 2027, which carries data rather than computing it.", "in_orbit_spacecraft": 0, "name": "Blue Origin Project Sunrise", "next_milestone": null, "operator": "Blue Origin", "sources": [ "https://aviationweek.com/space/satellites/blue-origin-plans-51600-satellite-computing-constellation", "https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/nasa-objects-to-bezos-blue-origins-51600-satellite-project-sunrise-constellation/", "https://www.geekwire.com/2026/blue-origin-data-center-space-race-project-sunrise/" ], "status": "announced" }, { "claimed": "'One gigawatt before 2050' — a 24-year aspiration, usually quoted without the date.", "confidence": "verified", "country": "European Union", "country_code": "EU", "filed_or_planned_satellites": null, "first_launch": null, "id": "ascend", "in_orbit_now": "Nothing was built. A feasibility study begun in 2023 with results announced 2024-06-27: space data centres judged feasible, contingent on a lower-carbon reusable launcher and on in-orbit robotic assembly.", "in_orbit_spacecraft": 0, "name": "ASCEND (Advanced Space Cloud for European Net zero emission and Data sovereignty)", "next_milestone": null, "operator": "Thales Alenia Space, funded by the European Commission under Horizon Europe", "sources": [ "https://www.thalesaleniaspace.com/en/press-releases/thales-alenia-space-reveals-results-ascend-feasibility-study-space-data-centers-0", "https://www.thalesgroup.com/en/news-centre/press-releases/thales-alenia-space-reveals-results-ascend-feasibility-study-space-data", "https://www.theengineer.co.uk/content/news/feasibility-study-on-space-based-data-centres-shows-promising-results" ], "status": "study" }, { "claimed": "A use-case, architecture and roadmap study for orbital data centres.", "confidence": "probable", "country": "Luxembourg", "country_code": "LU", "filed_or_planned_satellites": null, "first_launch": null, "id": "esa-space-cloud", "in_orbit_now": "Nothing under this contract: a Phase I architecture study awarded in May 2026. Edge Aerospace separately says it flew two on-board computers as an in-orbit demonstration on SpaceX Transporter-16 in March 2026 and that both met their targets; no capacity figure is published for them.", "in_orbit_spacecraft": 0, "name": "ESA Space Cloud, Phase I (Edge Aerospace)", "next_milestone": null, "operator": "European Space Agency, contracted to Edge Aerospace (Luxembourg)", "sources": [ "https://payloadspace.com/esa-selects-edge-aerospace-to-study-orbital-data-center-concepts/", "https://www.siliconluxembourg.lu/edge-aerospace-esa-orbital-data-centers/", "https://www.satcom.digital/news/edge-aerospace-announces-esa-contract-for-orbital-data-centers-first-in-orbit-mission-completion-and-us-expansion" ], "status": "study" }, { "claimed": "A pilot payload 'the size of a toaster oven' combining storage and processing.", "confidence": "probable", "country": "United Arab Emirates", "country_code": "AE", "filed_or_planned_satellites": null, "first_launch": null, "id": "madari", "in_orbit_now": "Nothing confirmed. The stated target was a Q3 2026 launch of a small storage-and-processing payload on an Emirati satellite. No launch confirmation was found on the as-of date, three days before the quarter ends. No compute, storage or power figure has been published.", "in_orbit_spacecraft": 0, "name": "Madari Space orbital data centre pilot", "next_milestone": "Stated target Q3 2026", "operator": "Madari Space, with the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre and UNOOSA Access to Space for All", "sources": [ "https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/uaes-madari-space-to-pilot-sending-data-centers-into-space-in-2026/", "https://satelliteprome.com/news/madari-space-to-launch-first-orbital-data-centre-in-2026/", "https://rcrwireless.com/20250804/ai-infrastructure/madari-space-dc" ], "status": "announced" }, { "claimed": "Tiles assembled into orbital data centres, cooled without fans.", "confidence": "probable", "country": "United States", "country_code": "US", "filed_or_planned_satellites": null, "first_launch": null, "id": "sophia", "in_orbit_now": "Nothing. A patent, secured with Caltech, for passively cooled modular tiles that radiate waste heat to space, presented at AIAA SciTech in January 2026. No flight hardware, no launch date, no published capacity.", "in_orbit_spacecraft": 0, "name": "Sophia Space modular orbital data centre tiles", "next_milestone": null, "operator": "Sophia Space, with Caltech", "sources": [ "https://www.geekwire.com/2026/sophia-space-caltech-ai-patent-orbital-data-centers/", "https://aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org/institute/no-fans-needed-sophia-spaces-orbital-data-centers-will-cool-compute-and-conquer-space-based-computing/", "https://sophia.space/" ], "status": "announced" }, { "claimed": "Nearly 200,000 satellites, purpose unstated.", "confidence": "unverified", "country": "China", "country_code": "CN", "filed_or_planned_satellites": 193428, "first_launch": null, "id": "ctc", "in_orbit_now": "Nothing, and the purpose is unknown. Filed with the ITU in January 2026 for two constellations of 96,714 satellites each. Several roundups list this as orbital compute; the filings do not say so. Printed here with the purpose left blank rather than imputed.", "in_orbit_spacecraft": 0, "name": "CTC-1 / CTC-2 ITU filings", "next_milestone": null, "operator": "Institute of Radio Spectrum Utilization and Technological Innovation (China)", "purpose_established": false, "sources": [ "https://gizmodo.com/china-wants-to-launch-200000-satellites-to-earth-orbit-outnumbering-all-other-constellations-2000710704", "https://satnews.com/2026/01/12/as-spacex-targets-50000-starlink-satellites-china-files-for-200000-unit-mega-constellation/" ], "status": "unclear" }, { "claimed": "On-orbit processing of satellite imagery so that only useful data is downlinked.", "confidence": "unverified", "country": "Japan", "country_code": "JP", "filed_or_planned_satellites": null, "first_launch": null, "id": "space-compass", "in_orbit_now": "A geostationary optical data-relay service, launched in fiscal 2024, is operating — relay, not compute. The orbital edge-processing layer announced in 2022 for 2025–26 has no confirmed flight and no published compute or power figure.", "in_orbit_spacecraft": 0, "name": "Space Compass Space Integrated Computing Network", "next_milestone": null, "operator": "Space Compass Corporation (NTT DOCOMO and SKY Perfect JSAT joint venture)", "purpose_established": false, "sources": [ "https://group.ntt/en/newsrelease/2022/04/26/220426a.html", "https://www.rd.ntt/e/research/JN202210_19855.html", "https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/ntt-and-sky-perfect-jsat-to-launch-space-data-center-in-2025/" ], "status": "unclear" } ], "schema": 1, "status_words": { "announced": "a filing, a funding round or a plan; nothing flown under this programme", "awaiting-launch": "built, manifested, not yet flown", "demonstrated": "hardware flew and did something, and is not operating now or is a hosted prototype", "operating": "hardware in orbit and reported working", "study": "a paper study; no hardware built", "unclear": "a filing or a service whose relation to computing in space is not established" }, "totals": { "by_status": { "announced": 5, "awaiting-launch": 1, "demonstrated": 2, "operating": 3, "study": 2, "unclear": 2 }, "filed_or_planned_for_compute": 1142481, "filed_purpose_unknown": 193428, "filed_to_flown_ratio": 49673, "in_orbit_spacecraft": 23, "programmes": 15 }, "verdict": "There are no data centres in space. On the as-of date, hardware in orbit that could be called compute totals a few dozen spacecraft; the constellations filed with regulators total more than a million. A register that printed only the filed number would be repeating a press release.", "what_this_is": "A register of every programme that claims, files for, or has flown computing hardware in orbit or on the Moon described as a data centre. Each row separates what is actually in space from what has been announced or filed, with the sources for both." }