SpaceX is increasingly positioning itself as a data and compute provider, aiming to deliver massive artificial‑intelligence processing power. In an earnings call on Tuesday afternoon, executives outlined a goal to have up to 10 gigawatts of ground‑based compute capacity operational by 2027.
The company’s narrative has shifted away from the once‑central promise of sending humans to Mars, focusing instead on the AI boom and the data infrastructure needed to sustain it. Nonetheless, SpaceX’s broader vision still includes offering space‑based data services, first through the existing Starlink internet network and later via a planned “Starmind” constellation of data centers. Both concepts depend on the successful deployment of the Starship launch system.
During the same call, founder Elon Musk and president and chief operating officer Gwynne Shotwell revealed new performance targets for Starship. Among the objectives is a trial of the vehicle’s in‑flight catch‑and‑return capability on the next flight, a step the company says is essential for increasing launch cadence and achieving its long‑term space‑based data ambitions.