Convergence X Goes to Space

I read two stories last week that — on the surface — had nothing to do with each other.

One was about a radical plan to beam sunlight down to Earth at night to deliver power on demand from space.

The other was about a new Nvidia supercomputer, hand-delivered to Elon Musk’s SpaceX headquarters, that will help train the AI systems running his rockets and satellites.

But when you look at the big picture, these articles validate something George Gilder and I have been saying for months…

That we’re on the verge of what we call “Convergence X.”

We’re seeing a fusion of technologies that are turning once-separate industries into a single, self-reinforcing system. In other words, energy, computing power and manufacturing are all merging into one continuous loop.

And that loop is beginning to play out above the planet.

A New Grid in the Sky

Space-based solar power isn’t a new concept. It dates all the way back to the 1960s.

The idea is that satellites could collect sunlight in orbit, where it shines twenty-four hours a day, and beam it back to Earth as usable energy.

But for decades, this concept has been dismissed as too expensive or too complicated to be practical.

That’s no longer the case today.

In January 2023, a team at Caltech proved it could be done. Their experimental satellite, called SSPD-1, transmitted 200 milliwatts of power from orbit to a pair of receivers on Earth., which is

Even though that was less than a cellphone camera light, it was enough to prove that the physics works.

And now a company called Reflect Orbital wants to accomplish this at scale.

Their initial plan is to launch a constellation of 57 mirrored satellites into low-Earth orbit, each capable of redirecting sunlight onto solar farms or cities after dark.

If the idea works, it could eventually extend daily solar production by up to two hours per site.

This would equate to as much as a 10% to 15% boost in annual output without adding a single new panel on the ground.

Image: Reflect Orbital

And, in theory, it would erase the biggest weakness of renewable energy: intermittency.

We talked about the problem of intermittency earlier this year, when Spain went dark due to a sudden power crash and not enough backup energy.

But with this solar array, it would be possible to have a clean power source that never goes offline, beaming light or energy anywhere on Earth, day or night.

Naturally, critics are worried about the environmental impact of this cutting-edge technology. There’s the risk of light pollution and orbital clutter, and there are valid concerns about the safety of beaming energy through the atmosphere.

But think back to the early days of electricity. People once thought high-voltage lines were dangerous too.

Yet within a generation, we built the safeguards that let electricity change the world.

And we’re not the only country pursuing this new technology.

As always, China is racing to get there first. Its space agency has announced plans for a one-megawatt orbital solar station by 2030.

That’s enough to power a small neighborhood.

Japan, a country that imports over 90% of its energy, has plans to launch a one-gigawatt orbital solar array within the next 25 years.

And the European Space Agency’s SOLARIS program projects that two gigawatt-class stations could eventually power a million homes.

So what does all this have to do with Nvidia and SpaceX?

Earlier this month, Nvidia delivered its newest AI supercomputer directly to Elon Musk’s team.

Image: Nvidia

The DGX Spark is a compact AI workstation that packs about one petaflop of computing power — enough to handle AI models with up to 200 billion parameters — while drawing only around 1,000 watts of power.

That’s less energy than a standard hair dryer.

But what makes the DGX Spark so remarkable isn’t just its performance.

It’s where it’s being used.

SpaceX now has the power to train and deploy massive AI models inside its own testing facilities, without sending data back and forth to the cloud.

That means it can build systems that process sensor data, predict maintenance issues and adjust flight paths in real time directly aboard its rockets and satellites.

In short, the DGX Spark gives SpaceX the ability to create spacecraft that can think for themselves in orbit, instead of waiting for instructions from Earth.

This upgrade would be a major boost for America’s space initiatives.

And when you pair that level of intelligence with the promise of limitless orbital energy, you can see why these two breakthroughs are part of the same story.

You see, the same satellites designed to beam power down to Earth could also send it to other spacecraft, keeping AI systems like the DGX Spark running continuously.

Energy feeding intelligence, and intelligence optimizing energy. That’s the loop forming above us…

It’s Convergence X taking shape in orbit.

Here’s My Take

Convergence X isn’t just about a single breakthrough.

It’s about a series of convergences that change the structure of the economy.

When power generation and artificial intelligence meet in orbit, it represents the expansion of Convergence X beyond Earth’s factories and data centers, and into the vacuum of space.

Of course, both of these advances are still early.

But so was the microchip when George Gilder introduced it to President Reagan.

Space-based energy could unlock new markets on Earth, enabling 24/7 clean grids and off-world power for satellites, lunar bases or even asteroid mining operations.

AI supercomputers like the DGX Spark could become standard equipment in every spacecraft, running navigation, maintenance and logistics autonomously.

When those two systems eventually meet we could end up with something humanity has never seen before: a self-sustaining industrial network that extends beyond Earth’s atmosphere.

That’s the ultimate expression of Convergence X…

Not just here on Earth, but hundreds of miles above our heads.

Regards,

Ian King
Chief Strategist, Banyan Hill Publishing

Editor’s Note: We’d love to hear from you!

If you want to share your thoughts or suggestions about the Daily Disruptor, or if there are any specific topics you’d like us to cover, just send an email to [email protected].

Don’t worry, we won’t reveal your full name in the event we publish a response. So feel free to comment away!