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On November 4, 2026, indigo published an article that, combining Elon Musk's reply with the publicly available design of the AI1 satellite, outlined the key points of a space data center solution centered on radiative heat dissipation. The article states that an aluminum radiator facing deep space achieves about 1300 W/m2, while solar panels achieve about 250 W/m2, so the solar panel area is about 5 times that of the radiator, and the satellite's mass comes mainly from the solar panels; the AI1 satellite has a peak computing power of about 150 kW and an average of about 120 kW, with deployable liquid radiators of about 110 m2, a wingspan of about 70 m, and a deployed height of about 20 m. indigo believes the real bottleneck is whether Starship can deliver large-area structures to orbit at low cost. Previously, on November 3, Elon Musk responded to doubts about heat dissipation for space AI data centers, saying that an aluminum radiator facing away from the sun and toward deep space can achieve a thermal radiation power of about 1300 watts per square meter; relevant media noted that this figure remains a performance claim put forward by him, with no on-orbit measured results provided.
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Phoenix Technology
Musk responds to doubts about heat dissipation for space AI data centers: aluminum radiators facing away from the sun can reach about 1,300 W/m²
Musk responded to doubts about heat dissipation for space AI data centers, saying that aluminum radiators facing away from the sun and toward deep space can achieve a thermal radiation power of about 1,300 W/m², with radiator orientation and material being key. The media outlet noted that this figure is still a performance claim put forward by Musk, and the report did not provide on-orbit measured results; heat dissipation capability also depends on surface temperature, emissivity, and area. The power density of solar panels is about 250 W/m², so their area should be about 5 times that of the radiator.
indigo
indigo analyzes space data center cooling solution: aluminum radiators about 1300 W/m², bottleneck is Starship launch capacity
Drawing on Elon Musk's reply and the public AI1 satellite design, indigo outlined a space data center solution centered on radiative cooling. An aluminum radiator facing deep space achieves about 1300 W/m², while solar panels produce about 250 W/m², so the solar panel area is about 5 times that of the radiator, and most of the satellite's mass comes from the solar panels. The AI1 satellite has peak compute of about 150 kW and average compute of about 120 kW, with deployable liquid radiators of about 110 m², a wingspan of about 70 m, and a deployed height of about 20 m; the author believes the real bottleneck is whether Starship can deliver large-area structures to orbit at low cost.
Electronic Technology Application
Musk responds to doubts about heat dissipation for space AI data centers: aluminum radiators facing away from the sun can reach about 1,300 watts per square meter
Musk responded to doubts about heat dissipation for space AI data centers, saying that aluminum radiators facing away from the sun and toward deep space can achieve a thermal radiation power of about 1,300 watts per square meter, with orientation and material being key. Previously, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said that putting data centers in space is currently absurd, and Jan Broersen, a professor at Utrecht University, also believed that vacuum can only dissipate heat through radiation and that space data centers are almost impossible to build. The media outlet noted that 1,300 watts per square meter is still a performance claim put forward by Musk, with no on-orbit measured results provided.
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