• sys110x@aussie.zone
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    5 days ago

    It’s really difficult to cool things in space, and it’s really difficult to power stationary things in space. It’s also really expensive to put things in space so size/weight is a problem.

    So if it’s not cheaper/better for cooling, and it’s not cheaper/better for power, and it’s not cheaper/better for rack space… why is there a focus on shipping compute to space?

    The point I keep coming back to is that it’s really hard for the public to protest/damage/destroy data centres in space.

    • CameronDev@programming.dev
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      5 days ago

      I think its simpler than that, its just stock price pumping. They can tell the plebs that they have the tech to put servers in space, and the plebs will eat it up and pump the stock.

      You can still destroy the terrestrial base stations.

    • asmoranomar@lemmy.world
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      3 days ago

      The only legitimate thing I can think of is that if we ever colonize the moon or mars, we are going to need compute and storage at the location. If we can launch equipment into orbit instead of waiting until it’s needed then it’ll give a headstart to test different solutions. If we can also figure out how to do that without having to build it or maintain it on the moon/mars, then that might result in less risk. But it’s all conjecture and you don’t know what you don’t know unless you try.

    • terranoid@lemmy.cafe
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      4 days ago

      It’s extremely difficult from a cooling perspective IIRC, way more than on earth. Like you have to vent into a near vacuum, which is one of the best insulators.

      • JcbAzPx@lemmy.world
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        4 days ago

        You have to radiate it. If you vent, you run out of whatever medium you’re using to cool in a few minutes.

    • BassTurd@lemmy.world
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      4 days ago

      Even if they could pull it off, the data transmission speed would be sooooo bad relative to what it would take to ingest insane amount of data and then regurgitate it back.

    • Echo Dot@feddit.uk
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      4 days ago

      If they’re putting the date centres in space I am going to problem with them anymore.