Making space travel as easy as taking a plane! SpaceX plans to build a global spaceport, aiming to launch a thousand times a year

Musk is considering building a spaceport and is in talks with Google about sending data centers into orbit. SpaceX is expected to list in June, valuing the company at $1.75 trillion.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk (Elon Musk) once again made bold remarks on the 13th, announcing that he plans to build “spaceports” worldwide. It was also reported that he is in talks with Google’s parent company Alphabet about collaborating to send AI data centers into Earth orbit. All these developments are laying the groundwork for the first IPO scheduled to kick off in June this year, with a valuation exceeding $1.75 trillion.

Starship rocket aims for thousands of flights per year—one launch base won’t be enough

On Wednesday, SpaceX released an official statement saying the company’s goal is to launch Starship rockets “thousands of times” each year, and admitting that existing launch sites are completely unable to support such a frequency. Musk wrote on X: “SpaceX is actively evaluating locations in the United States and multiple overseas sites, preparing to build the ‘world’s most advanced spaceport.’”

Image source: X/@elonmusk

The reason Starship can achieve such a launch rate lies in its design. Unlike traditional one-off rockets, Starship, together with the Super Heavy booster, can be quickly recovered and relaunched with minimal maintenance, and its maximum payload per mission exceeds 100 metric tons.

Musk likened future spaceports to modern airports—multiple flights per day and the ability to rapidly mobilize—making interstellar travel as routine as flying. At present, Starship’s test flights are concentrated at the Starbase facility in Texas, while the facilities in Florida are still under expansion. SpaceX has even started converting two offshore oil platform “Deimos” and “Phobos” into future offshore launch pads.

Google teams up with SpaceX—opportunities for space data centers move to the forefront

Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal also revealed that Google is in talks with SpaceX regarding rocket launch contracts, with the aim of sending data center hardware into low Earth orbit. The plan falls under Google’s research project “Project Suncatcher.” The project aims to deploy AI cloud computing infrastructure in orbit using solar-powered satellites carrying Google’s own TPU chips, with the first prototype satellite launches planned for the earliest in 2027 in collaboration with partner Planet Labs.

Google is not the only tech giant showing interest in SpaceX. Just a week ago, AI company Anthropic signed an agreement with SpaceX to use all computing resources from its Colossus 1 data center in Memphis, and it also clearly stated its interest in orbital data centers.

Interestingly, SpaceX completed the acquisition of Musk’s AI company xAI in February this year and integrated it into its internal AI division to actively enter the computing power market. It is also reported that SpaceX has applied to regulatory authorities for authorization to launch as many as 1,000,000 satellites, to support the long-term operation of orbital data centers.

Are space-based data centers a revolutionary business opportunity or a distant dream?

TechCrunch analysis points out that the concept of orbital data centers does have commercial logic. Ground-based data centers face enormous power consumption, difficulties in acquiring land, and community backlash, while SpaceX argues that in the coming years, the cost of computing in space may be lower than that of terrestrial facilities.

However, challenges cannot be ignored either: hardware cooling, cosmic radiation, orbital maintenance, data transmission latency, and the currently extremely high deployment costs are all “walls” that this concept must overcome to turn the blueprint into reality.

Countdown to the biggest IPO in history—SpaceX targets the secondary market

SpaceX’s expansion in its space business happens to coincide with a critical period as the company pushes for its IPO. Insiders say SpaceX expects to go public in June this year, with a target valuation of about $1.75 trillion. The fundraising size could reach $75 billion, potentially becoming the largest IPO in the world ever.

Starship’s 12th test flight is also expected to take place on May 19, during which it will first test the next-generation booster and engine system. This will further confirm the technical feasibility of fully reusable commercial operations. At that time, it will also serve as an initial verification of whether SpaceX’s space exploration blueprint can become a reality.

• This article is reprinted with permission from: 《Chain News》
• Original title: 《Make interstellar travel as routine as flying! SpaceX plans to build global spaceports, calling for preparation for thousands of launches per year ahead of the IPO》
• Original author: Crumax