SpaceX and Nvidia are taking artificial intelligence beyond Earth, unveiling plans to build a satellite designed to perform advanced AI computing directly in orbit. The companies announced on August 4 that they are jointly developing the compute payload for the Starmind AI1 satellite, a spacecraft intended to process AI workloads in low Earth orbit using Nvidia’s latest computing hardware. SpaceX envisions an orbital network that could eventually grow to one million satellites, creating what would amount to a distributed AI supercomputer in space. Roughly 15,000 active satellites currently circle Earth, making the proposed network one of the largest space infrastructure projects ever attempted. Testing begins next year Prototype testing for the Starmind AI1 satellite is scheduled for early 2027.