Does It Make Sense To Put Data Centers In Space? Can They Really Cost Less To Operate?
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Lumen Orbit raised 2.4 million dollars from investors based on the notion of putting data centers in space, computers that could be used to train AI, or mayb...
  • Echo Dot@feddit.uk
    24·
    3 months ago

    Like most space ideas the basic concept is not bad. It just relies on a massive 100% reusable spacecraft and currently we don’t have one yet.

    Also they need to stick radiators on it I’m sure they know that but they didn’t show any in the render.

    • 14th_cylon@lemm.ee
      4·
      3 months ago

      The concept is laughably absurd, because these things are basically impossible for “data center in space”:

      • data uplink of reasonable throughput
      • power supply
      • cooling

      And even if all these problems vanished, getting anything on the orbit is pretty fucking expensive.

      Data center needs daily maintenance.

      What would even be point of this silly idea? Unless you are talking about some kind of doomsday data vault, it doesn’t make sense at all.

        • 14th_cylon@lemm.ee
          2·
          2 months ago

          yes. not entirely impossible, but highly impractical in the context of “datacenter in space”.

          releasing heat in space is quite tricky, since radiating it into vacuum is not very effective and datacenter generates enormous amount of it. it is basically heat factory.

          i am imagining some borg cube datacenter surrounded by field of heat radiators god knows how long, some sort of datacenter-space-urchin.

          might look cool as an illustration in scifi story, but that is where it will stay for a long time.

      • Echo Dot@feddit.uk
        13·
        3 months ago

        It’s not a data center in space it’s a processing center in space that will be that much data he set the table.

        The idea behind it is that they won’t be limited by power availability. In space you can just build and build to get more and more power forever.

        • 14th_cylon@lemm.ee
          31·
          3 months ago

          processing center in space that will be that much data he set the table.

          What?

          In space you can just build and build to get more and more power forever

          On ground you can also build and build, and it is exponentially cheaper…

          • Echo Dot@feddit.uk
            11·
            2 months ago

            No you can’t just build and build there are planning laws and you know other structures in the way. Space allows for effectively infinite expansion. In theory you could build a structure billions of kilometers across obviously you would never actually do that but the point is you could so it’s effectively infinite.

            If you try building a 20 km building on Earth people are going to get mad at you and also you need to buy land which kind of gets expensive assuming the land is even available which often it won’t be assuming it’s even stable enough to construct on which often it won’t be.

            • 14th_cylon@lemm.ee
              11·
              2 months ago

              Space allows for effectively infinite expansion.

              no, it does not. it costs thousands of usd to lift single kilogram of material to orbit, so the expansion there is effectively very fucking limited.

              whatever you can do in space, you can do on ground far more cheaper.

              you are watching to much scifi, this isn’t star trek.

              • Echo Dot@feddit.uk
                11·
                2 months ago

                I think you’re missing my main point which is that it’s possible to do it If reusable spacecraft become available.

                Your objections make no sense if such a technology exists.