Musk's wild idea: Build a satellite "slingshot" on the moon

To more conveniently deploy a satellite network in data centers dedicated to AI, Elon Musk's latest idea is to launch satellites from the moon to Earth's orbit using electromagnetic catapult technology.

This concept involves two core infrastructures: first, a satellite assembly plant on the lunar surface for on - site satellite manufacturing; second, a giant electromagnetic catapult device responsible for precisely delivering satellites to Earth's low - Earth orbit.

This is not the first time Musk has proposed a lunar mission this year. In early February, Musk outlined a preliminary blueprint for a lunar satellite factory at an all - staff meeting of his artificial intelligence company, xAI. He said the company needed to build a factory on the moon to manufacture AI satellites, and a huge space catapult could send these AI satellites into space. He plans to achieve an unmanned lunar landing in March 2027 and stated that SpaceX will shift its focus to building a "self - sustaining city" on the moon, claiming this goal can be achieved in less than a decade.

Behind this seemingly crazy "space expansion" concept lies Musk's deep anxiety about the contradiction between computing power and energy in the AI era. At the 2026 World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, he said that the fundamental factor restricting AI deployment is electricity. The production of current AI chips is growing exponentially, but the growth of power supply is slow, which hinders the efficiency of training and deploying models in AI data centers. He believes that Earth's energy supply can no longer meet the exponential growth of AI infrastructure, while space has an inexhaustible supply of solar energy, making it an ideal solution to this bottleneck.

SpaceX recently submitted an application to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, proposing to deploy a system consisting of up to one million satellites in low - Earth orbit to build an in - orbit data center network to support high - performance computing needs such as AI. According to the application document, these satellites are planned to operate in low - Earth orbit at an altitude of about 500 to 2000 kilometers, powered by solar energy, and mainly communicate with each other and connect with the company's Starlink satellite Internet via lasers to ensure high - speed data transmission. This can reduce operating and maintenance costs and relieve the pressure on traditional ground - based data centers in terms of energy consumption and the environment.

What is electromagnetic catapult technology?

Electromagnetic catapult is a new - type launch technology that uses electromagnetic force to accelerate objects to ultra - high speeds. It achieves efficient launches by converting electrical energy into kinetic energy, which is fundamentally different from traditional chemical - fuel rockets and is a new rocket launch solution. It is equivalent to building a "zero - stage booster" for rockets on the ground, accelerating the rockets to supersonic speeds before ignition and takeoff, and is expected to reduce the launch cost by 90% to less than $500 per kilogram.

Thanks to its rapid reset and charging features, the electromagnetic catapult system supports multiple dense launches per day, which is beneficial for increasing the launch frequency. This high - frequency capability is of strategic significance for the deployment of large - scale satellite constellations. Additionally, since the first - stage rocket booster is eliminated in electromagnetic catapult rockets, the first - stage fuel and reusable launch vehicles can be saved, significantly increasing the payload ratio and thus enhancing the economic benefits of single launches and reducing the overall launch cost.

The core principle of electromagnetic catapult technology is to use the powerful Lorentz force to propel objects. The system usually consists of rails or coils. When a strong current passes through the rails or coils, a moving electromagnetic field is generated. The "catapult" or payload box in the middle of the track is subjected to a huge thrust in the magnetic field, accelerating along the rails until it reaches a preset extremely high speed and then takes off.

Currently, this technology has been explored on Earth. The "High - power Low - temperature Refrigeration System and Model Superconducting Magnet Development Service Project" undertaken by Lianchuang Superconducting of Lianchuang Optoelectronics Co., Ltd. was successfully delivered and passed the acceptance at the end of 2025, marking the success of its first engineering order in the field of commercial space electromagnetic launch; Galaxy Power has launched the research and development of the "Ceres - 2" rocket, which uses electromagnetic catapult technology. The rocket has a take - off weight of 100 tons and a payload capacity of up to 3.5 tons. This electromagnetic catapult rocket is scheduled to make its maiden flight in Ziyang in 2028; Xiangdian Co., Ltd.'s technology has been applied to the electromagnetic catapult system of China's Fujian aircraft carrier, and the company is migrating its mature ship electromagnetic catapult technology to the aerospace field...

Musk's concept of "lunar electromagnetic catapult" involves choosing the moon as the launch base. This has significant theoretical advantages. First, the moon's gravity is only one - sixth of Earth's, and there is no atmospheric resistance, so much less energy is required to launch an object of the same weight compared to Earth. Second, the abundant solar energy on the lunar surface can provide a continuous supply of clean energy for the catapult system. In addition, launching from the moon can avoid the increasingly crowded spacecraft and space debris in low - Earth orbit.

Simply put, lunar electromagnetic catapult is theoretically feasible and has advantages that traditional fuel - based launches do not have. However, there are still insurmountable technical obstacles to turning this concept into reality.

Firstly, there is the issue of engineering scale. Analysis suggests that the length of this electromagnetic catapult device may need to reach several kilometers. Building such a huge facility on the lunar surface would first require establishing a permanent human base and transporting thousands of tons of construction materials to the moon - a feat that humans have never achieved.

Secondly, there is the problem of launch accuracy. Although the electromagnetic catapult process is efficient, the acceleration process is extremely intense. Designing a gentle enough acceleration curve to ensure that the precise and fragile AI electronic devices are not damaged by the huge acceleration during the catapult process is a major challenge.

Thirdly, there is the matter of energy demand. The lunar version needs to accelerate satellites to over 2.2 kilometers per second to escape the moon's gravitational pull, and the amount of electrical energy required for each launch is extremely large. How to build a power grid on the moon that can support high - frequency launches remains an unknown.

This article is from the WeChat public account "Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily", author: Song Ziqiao, published by 36Kr with authorization.