StoryRegulatory
Blue Origin files FCC application for Project Sunrise, a constellation of 51,600+ sun-synchronous compute satellites
Blue Origin filed with the FCC to build Project Sunrise, an orbital data center constellation with over 51,600 sun-synchronous satellites at altitudes from 500 to 1,800 km. Each satellite layer contains 300–1,000 units spaced 3–6 miles apart. The system will launch on Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket and is designed to serve AI compute customers with 24/7 solar power and lower marginal cost than terrestrial data centers.
- CEO Jeff Bezos stated solar-powered orbital data centers could eventually beat terrestrial costs and offer clean, land-free compute capacity.
- Sunrise directly competes with SpaceX's Starshield orbital data center plans.
- Reliable launch cadence on New Glenn is the critical bottleneck for 51,600-satellite constellation deployment.