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For some, SpaceX\u2019s initial public offering (IPO) of shares on the Nasdaq stock index this week appears to be all about rockets. After all, the company has built its reputation launching satellites on its reusable Falcon 9 rockets, shuttling crew and cargo to and from the International Space Station and developing Starship, the largest rocket ever flown. If Starship succeeds in driving launch costs dramatically lower, the next question is what gets built in orbit.<\/p>\n From Starlink broadband and orbital data centers to space-based solar power, here\u2019s what a $2 trillion SpaceX might actually build.<\/span><\/p>\n getty<\/small><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n Starship is designed to carry more than 100 tonnes to low Earth orbit, according to SpaceX<\/a>, and could dramatically reduce launch costs if fully reusable operations are achieved.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The global space economy is forecast to grow from about $630 billion in 2023 to $1.8 trillion by 2035, according to the World Economic Forum<\/a>. That\u2019s about twice the rate of global GDP growth.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The company is formally known as Space Exploration Technologies Corporation and will list under the symbol SPCX on the Nasdaq stock index. Shares will sell for $135 each<\/u><\/a>. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Some investors believe the answer could include data centers, energy infrastructure and industrial facilities on a scale never before attempted. The most obvious is Starlink, which has more than 10 million Starlink subscribers, according to analysts<\/a>, and now accounts for roughly two-thirds of all active spacecraft in Earth orbit. SpaceX increasingly resembles an infrastructure company and some investors see a future built on Starlink, but also on orbital data centers and even solar power transmitted wirelessly to Earth from space.<\/p>\n The first example of large-scale orbital infrastructure could be SpaceX\u2019s orbital data centers. In January, SpaceX filed documents<\/a> asking the Federal Communications Commission for permission to launch a million satellites to create a solar-powered AI data center megaconstellation. \u201cOrbital data centers are the most efficient way to meet the accelerating demand for AI computing power,\u201d it reads, adding that global electricity demand for data centers is projected to more than double by 2035, driven by growth in AI and account for up to 4% of total worldwide electricity consumption. \u201cIt makes a lot of sense because it\u2019s so cold, and these are massive heat\u2011generating data centers,\u201d said futurist and entrepreneur Brett Hurt, author of Love Conquers Fear: Humanity, AI, and the Age of Abundance for All<\/a>, in an interview. \u201cIf you can get them into the coldness of space, then it costs a tremendously less amount of energy.\u201d It\u2019s not just a SpaceX idea, with European Space Agency-backed conceptual work in Europe<\/a> and private projects such as Axiom Space<\/a>, Starcloud<\/a> and Google\u2019s Project Suncatcher<\/a>. According to ESA, the concept is a decade or two away. SpaceX recently said its orbital AI compute may not be commercially viable, Reuters<\/a> reported.<\/p>\nKey Facts<\/h2>\n
If Starship succeeds, what gets built?<\/h2>\n
Mega-structures In Space<\/h2>\n
SpaceX And Off-Earth Energy<\/h2>\n