cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/24946971
TL;DW:
Does It Make Sense To Put Data Centers In Space?
At some point in the future, yes.
Can They Really Cost Less To Operate?
In theory, yes.
Scott expresses concerns that current startups have not adequately addressed some of the practical challenges, such as cooling.
Considering some data centers basically need a power plant to run, the amount of solar panels needed would be insane. Plus, unless you keep the data center between the planet and the sun, you still have shade.
The way I understand is that they would use a sun-synchronous orbit, more specifically a dawn/dusk orbit, which places the satellite over the terminator between day and night meaning it always directly sees the sun. But yes, it would need an insane number of solar panels. What’s more, data centers don’t just need power, they also need cooling. So there would also need to be an insane amount of radiators (in space it’s very hard to get rid of heat).
All in all the only advantage I can see is not much of an advantage, if at all, especially compared to all the drawbacks.
There is such a thing as Sun-synchronous polar orbits (an example).
Neat