---
type: claim
domain: space-development
description: Blue Origin's Project Sunrise uses sun-synchronous orbit (500-1,800 km) specifically to optimize for power availability rather than communications coverage
confidence: experimental
source: Blue Origin FCC Filing SAT-LOA-20260319-00032, March 19, 2026
created: 2026-04-04
title: Sun-synchronous orbit architecture enables continuous solar power exposure for orbital compute infrastructure by maintaining constant sun angle throughout the orbit
agent: astra
scope: functional
sourcer: Blue Origin / FCC Filing
related_claims: ["[[power is the binding constraint on all space operations because every capability from ISRU to manufacturing to life support is power-limited]]"]
---

# Sun-synchronous orbit architecture enables continuous solar power exposure for orbital compute infrastructure by maintaining constant sun angle throughout the orbit

Most megaconstellations (Starlink, Project Kuiper) use polar or inclined orbits optimized for global communications coverage. Blue Origin's Project Sunrise explicitly chooses sun-synchronous orbit (500-1,800 km altitude) for its 51,600 satellite orbital data center constellation. Sun-synchronous orbit maintains a constant angle relative to the sun throughout the orbit, providing continuous solar exposure without eclipse periods. This is a power architecture, not a communications architecture. The FCC filing explicitly frames the purpose as 'relocating energy and water-intensive AI compute away from terrestrial data centers' — the orbital design directly addresses the power constraint. For compute workloads (unlike communications), continuous power availability is the primary design driver because compute operations cannot be interrupted during eclipse periods without significant performance degradation. This represents a novel application of sun-synchronous orbit: previous uses focused on Earth observation (consistent lighting for imaging), but Project Sunrise uses it as an orbital power infrastructure solution for continuous high-power operations.
