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Project Sunrise
Type: Orbital data center constellation
Developer: Blue Origin
Status: FCC application filed (March 19, 2026)
Scale: Up to 51,600 satellites
Overview
Project Sunrise is Blue Origin's proposed orbital data center constellation, filed with the FCC on March 19, 2026. The constellation would operate in sun-synchronous orbit at 500-1,800 km altitude, using TeraWave optical inter-satellite links as the communications backbone.
Technical Specifications
- Orbit: Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO), 500-1,800 km altitude
- Constellation size: Up to 51,600 satellites
- Orbital planes: 5-10 km altitude separation
- Satellites per plane: 300-1,000
- Communications: TeraWave optical ISL mesh for backbone, Ka-band for ground TT&C
- Power: Solar-powered
Architecture
- TeraWave optical ISL mesh provides high-throughput backbone
- Traffic routed through ground stations via TeraWave and other mesh networks
- Simultaneous filing for TeraWave as standalone communications infrastructure
Stated Rationale
Blue Origin claims Project Sunrise will "ease mounting pressure on US communities and natural resources by shifting energy- and water-intensive compute away from terrestrial data centres, reducing demand on land, water supplies and electrical grids."
Timeline
- 2026-03-19 — FCC application filed
- 2027 (planned) — First 5,000+ TeraWave satellites
- 2030s (estimated) — Industry sources assess "such projects are unlikely to come to fruition until the 2030s"
Context
- Filed 7 weeks after SpaceX's 1M satellite ODC filing (January 30, 2026)
- Represents ~22% of estimated 240,000 total LEO orbital capacity
- Unlike SpaceX's 1M filing, Project Sunrise is within physical LEO capacity constraints
- SSO altitude (500-1,800 km) represents harsher radiation environment than Starcloud-1's 325km demonstration orbit
- No thermal management approach disclosed in public filing