51,600 more satellites? Blue Origin is adding another twist to the data center space race with Project Sunrise
Jeff Bezos’ space venture Blue Origin is asking the Federal Communications Commission for authorization to send up to 51,600 data center satellites into low Earth orbit, marking its entry into the manned space race.
The proposed constellation, called Project Sunrise, will complement Blue Origin’s previously announced plans for a 5,408 TeraWave satellite constellation. TeraWave will provide ultra-high-speed connectivity for Project Sunrise satellites – as well as terrestrial data centers, large enterprises and government customers.
Once again, Bezos is competing with Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which is seeking FCC approval for a cluster of data centers with about a million satellites. And SpaceX has already noticed. So does Redmond, Wash.-based Starcloud, which operates its own data center network systems worth tens of thousands of satellites.
Technology companies are increasingly interested in installing orbital data centers because such networks may overcome the power and cooling constraints faced by Earth-based AI data centers. Last October, Bezos said at a technology conference in Italy that orbital data centers would be the “next step” in the transition from Earth-based industry to space. “We will be able to beat the cost of terrestrial data centers in space in the next few decades,” he said.
Blue Origin, SpaceX and Starcloud aren’t the only companies involved in the race for data center space. Other businesses that have shown interest include Google, Axiom Space, Aetherflux and Sophia Space.
The competition to build and launch orbital data centers is different from the competition to provide high-speed Internet access via low-Earth satellites. SpaceX, which now has more than 10,000 satellites in its Starlink constellation, currently dominates that market.
Meanwhile, Amazon – founded by Bezos but separate from privately held Blue Origin – is deploying satellites on its Amazon Leo broadband network (formerly known as Project Kuiper). Amazon is behind schedule for satellite deployment and has asked the FCC for an extension to the deadline, but the company says it is still on track to expand commercial service this year. Last month, the FCC gave permission for Amazon to expand the Leo constellation to more than 7,700 satellites.
In the past, Amazon has highlighted the collaboration Leo will have with Amazon Web Services’ and AI services. It’s not clear yet whether those synergies would extend to TeraWave and Project Sunrise, or whether Blue Origin’s offerings might compete with Amazon and AWS.
In its 14-page filing with the FCC, Blue Origin says the Project Sunrise satellites will operate in a circular, sun-parallel orbit ranging from 500 to 1,800 kilometers (310 to 1,120 miles) high. The satellites will be built in clusters with three different types of antennas to reflect different installation requirements. They would transmit data primarily through laser links, and route traffic through TeraWave and other mesh networks to connect to substations.
Blue Origin wants to waive some of the law’s requirements — for example, the processing round requirement and the six-year deadline to roll out part of the Project Sunrise satellites. The company says these requirements can be waived because its satellites will be designed to minimize interference from other satellites.
It didn’t take long for SpaceX to file an objection to Blue Origin’s request.
“SpaceX submitted a record of Amazon’s request to deny SpaceX’s data center request and requests that the commission apply substantive and procedural arguments to Amazon’s request to Blue Origin’s request to facilitate review and equal and consistent treatment for both applications,” the company said.
Starcloud CEO Philip Johnston saw SpaceX’s filing in a post on X, calling it “one of the funniest responses to an FCC filing of all time.”
“For background, Amazon opposed the SpaceX filing, and then Blue Origin (effectively controlled by Jeff Bezos) filed the same with SpaceX,” he wrote.
So, will Starcloud be involved in the conflict? “We’re not getting out of it!” Johnston said.
