Editor’s note: … In this article, we discuss the technical challenges of building an orbital data center constellation: launching all of it, dissipating heat in space, dealing with radiation, and addressing latency issues in orbit. Read part one here.
I find the napkin math interesting, especially putting into light that given expected longevity of such satellites, 5 to 7 years, they will have to do 10 to 42 launches per day. SpaceX will need $1.5 to $10 trillions to make it happen. All of that so the slop machine doesn’t have to run into obstacles like democracy ? So it can destroy communities and the environment freely? What are we doing?
Space isn’t cold the way cold environments are here on earth. The cold we experience on Earth is because we are surrounded by cold gases. Cold wind and cold air will wick heat away from objects. Because space lacks any atmosphere, all thermal transfer in space is radiative. In comparison to convective thermal transfer via air / atmosphere, radiative thermal transfer is abysmally slow, requiring expansive delicate heat sinks which must be carefully aimed and coated to facilitate thermal egress while impeding solar thermal ingress. If you’ve ever seen a picture of the space station, much of what you may think are solar panels are in fact heat sinks. You can’t just stick a server container in orbit and call the job done.