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Economics calculator for Orbital vs Terrestrial Data Centers https://andrewmccalip.com/space-datacenters https://andrewmccalip.com/space-datacenters You can p
by tristanj 5mo ago
Economics calculator for Orbital vs Terrestrial Data Centers
https://andrewmccalip.com/space-datacenters https://andrewmccalip.com/space-datacenters
You can play around with the cost sliders to estimate the economics, but even being quite optimistic, space data centers cost ~2-3x of their terrestrial counterparts.
- OutOfHere 5mo agoYou are altogether externalizing the cost of carbon dioxide emissions that humanity has to pay for. The resulting global warming is not a joke. The heat problem cumulatively is bigger on Earth than it would be in space.
- xnx 5mo agoCost = emmissions
- DoctorOetker 5mo agoNo, cost is not directly proportional to emissions. Heat emission in space is not problematic for humans
- xnx 5mo agoAre you counting the emissions to get the datacenters into space?
- OutOfHere 5mo agoThat's an environmental and financial cost, but it's a one time cost. For datacenters on Earth, the emissions are continuous.
- fulafel 5mo agoAre there going to be self sustaining server factories in space? The hw needs updating every few years.
- OutOfHere 5mo agoHow do we bootstrap to the point where we eventually have factories in space? If it were up to me, I would be researching and optimizing non-chemical propulsion, also green synthetic fuels for launches. Unfortunately, we will have to leave that for some firm other than SpaceX to develop.
- biomcgary 5mo agoBut, datacenter development in space does not deal with local NIMBYs, just centralized decision-makers that are easier to "influence".
- PowerfulWizard 5mo agoTo remove heat by radiation there's a big benefit to running the GPUs hotter as the radiation will be proportional to the fourth power of temperature. This resource is using 85 deg C versus 60 deg C for OP which will improve cooling performance. If Nvidia/SpaceX can make the chips run at a higher temperature that would help a lot although I assume it would have already been done if it were possible. Another option is to add a heat pump to raise radiator temperature if the smaller radiator mass can pay for the heat pump mass.
- cucumber3732842 5mo agoCould they run the chips at "normal" temperatures and then heat pump that all into some other mass that lives at "aerospace alloy" temperatures and radiates it away more efficiently?
- PowerfulWizard 5mo agoI think it's possible, I'm not familiar with what's really been tried but I see that there are some publications on it, for example there's an ESA project under way: https://connectivity.esa.int/archives/projects/heat-pump-centrifugal-compressor-system-spacecraft-cooling https://connectivity.esa.int/archives/projects/heat-pump-cen...
- spaceclay 5mo ago[dead]
- mc32 5mo agoSorry but wouldn’t space based DCs need radiation hardened parts which are typically a few generations behind SoTA? Do the centers deploy massive shields to protect the electronics?
- PowerfulWizard 5mo agoI haven't heard of that being a problem for Starlink, whatever they've done there seems to be working. The Orbital AI would be at a higher orbit but still within LEO which reduces the radiation. I wonder if occasional bit flips even matter for typical AI calculations. Quantization seems to suggest a lot of the lower bits aren't all that important. Either way SpaceX has already had success building systems with commercial-off-the-shelf products in space. To me the biggest problem of the system is the dependence on launch cost. The more launch cost can be lowered the more viable the system is and the more options there are for solving every problem. But IMO the reason Musk is building this system is to lower launch cost. He needs a project that can fund a high volume of launches and create economies of scale to lower launch cost, the way that Starlink did for Falcon 9.
- krunck 5mo agoThey'll pay the price if it means their data centers are immune to the anger of the commoners who are being surveilled, analyzed, and manipulated by systems running on these data centers.
- _DeadFred_ 5mo agoI'm still expecting a crypto satellite network to phone app now that normal phones have became satellite connectible. Something outside oversight.
- its-summertime 5mo agoI think the more likely goal would be immunity to regulation.
- brokenmachine 5mo ago[dead]
- rbanffy 5mo agoYou can’t release the files the police was never able to seize in the first place.
- brokenmachine 5mo ago>their data centers are immune to the anger of the commoners who are being surveilled If the commoners are attacking infrastructure, there's still always going to be ground stations that can be attacked.
- lispisok 5mo agoThe point of datacenters in space is about control not economics. They dont want the masses which they are trying to replace with AI and robots to have access to the datacenters running everything.
- bayindirh 5mo agoWhy people always take the worst parts of SciFi novels and try to built torment nexus? Again, we're getting closer to Hyperion Cantos here.
- deleted 5mo ago[deleted]
- jmpman 5mo agoYou might be on to something. Starship is moving its launch facility to Florida. Elon previously suspected a sniper shooting at the SpaceX rockets. Moving the launches to Cape Canaveral would make them much harder for a sniper to target. And his terrestrial data centers are easily accessible for anyone who has a grudge with him. Moving those to space would also isolate him from the masses uprising. https://arstechnica.com/space/2025/05/spacex-pushed-sniper-theory-with-the-feds-far-more-than-is-publicly-known/ https://arstechnica.com/space/2025/05/spacex-pushed-sniper-t...
- rstuart4133 5mo agoWhy did the word "skynet" pop into my mind?
- rbanffy 5mo agoYour view is much more optimistic than mine. For me, they want servers that the police can’t easily seize with keys in memory.