全球首富马斯克预言：2029 年太空 AI 算力将远超地面算力

IT House reported on October 31 that Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, tweeted on the X platform today (October 31), predicting that the AI ​​and cloud computing processing power deployed in low-Earth orbit in 2029 will far exceed ground computing power. IT Home has attached relevant screenshots as follows: Musk predicts that by 2028, the monthly new deployment of orbital computing power (space computing power) will exceed that of terrestrial computing power, and by 2029 it will "far exceed" terrestrial computing power. The “orbital computing power” here refers to AI/GPU and other computing capabilities deployed in satellites or space data centers. Its potential advantages include space solar power supply, heat dissipation conditions, and large-scale launch deployment. As the demand for AI training and inference surges, terrestrial data centers are facing multiple constraints such as power shortages, slow power grid expansion, land and water shortages, and community opposition. Proponents believe that sending servers, GPUs and storage devices into low-Earth orbit can take advantage of stronger, more consistent sunlight in space and eliminate dependence on terrestrial power grids. In a suitable sun-synchronous orbit, the satellite can receive sunlight almost all day long, thereby providing stable power to the energy-consuming AI chip. Industry research points out that the intensity of solar radiation in space can reach approximately 1,361 watts per square meter, and is not affected by day, night and weather. Musk is no longer the only one on this track. Google’s “Suncatcher” project put its first test spacecraft into orbit in October to explore the feasibility of running machine learning computing power in space; Bezos-backed Blue Origin also submitted a plan called “Project Sunrise” to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, planning to deploy up to 51,600 data center satellites. SpaceX’s ambitions are even bigger. The company has applied to build an orbiting data center constellation of up to 1 million satellites, operating at altitudes between 500 and 2,000 kilometers, and plans to transmit data in conjunction with the Starlink network.