SpaceX Breaks Ground on Solar Fab to Power Orbital Data Centers

SpaceX has quickly erected a new compound in Bastrop, Texas after breaking ground in late March, positioning the site to support off-world energy production.

Rather than a routine manufacturing expansion, the project is intended to serve as the power source for the TERAFAB initiative, supplying the energy needed for the next generation of orbital datacenters.

Production

SpaceX leadership has confirmed the facility’s role. Noah Cowles, the Director of Solar Production at SpaceX, stated, "SpaceX is constructing one of the world's most advanced solar cell factories in Bastrop, TX."

A recruitment call on LinkedIn outlined the engineering expectations for the Bastrop site, seeking candidates able to take "hands-on ownership of utilities, process equipment, cleanroom systems, and reliability programs during build and commissioning."

He also emphasized that the environment is "high-intensity, on-site, not a 9-5," and is looking for people who "thrive turning construction into flawless production."

The company is not producing standard rooftop panels; instead, it is vertically integrating fabrication to build specialized, aerospace-grade solar cells.

By concentrating production on-site, SpaceX aims to reduce exposure to global supply chain risks while exerting close control over solar cell efficiency and mass. Given the demands of low Earth orbit, reliability is critical, and managing the process from raw materials through final assembly is intended to ensure that outcome.

Why It’s Needed

The push for in-house solar manufacturing is tied to the scale of the upcoming TERAFAB mission, which envisions shifting massive amounts of compute directly into orbit.

Space-based datacenters deployed alongside the expanding Starlink satellite constellation will require substantial power. Although the vacuum of space can aid in cooling high-performance compute clusters, energy generation remains the primary constraint. Conventional commercial solar panels are too heavy, too fragile, and too inefficient to make sense given rocket payload costs.

To enable an orbital cloud capable of handling massive AI workloads, SpaceX needs a steady, high-volume supply of custom solar arrays that maximize energy produced per gram.

The Bastrop facility is designed to meet this requirement. It will act as the dedicated production hub for the Terafab initiative, turning raw silicon into high-efficiency panels to keep thousands of orbital compute nodes and future Starlink iterations operating continuously.

Pairing Tesla’s specialization in ground-based solar and batteries with SpaceX’s orbital manufacturing is expected to help bring TERAFAB to life in the coming years as orbital data centers progress from concept to reality.