TLDR · SCIENCE & FUTURISTIC TECHNOLOGY

ORBITAL DATA CENTERS, PART 1: THERE'S NO WAY THIS IS ECONOMICALLY VIABLE, RIGHT?

arstechnica.com15 min read

Summary from the TLDR newsletter

Replicating the output of a single large terrestrial data center would require hundreds of satellites. Building things in space is enormously expensive. While there are advantages to putting data centers in space, such as the abundant energy provided by the Sun, the high costs make such a venture likely unviable. There may also be other impacts of putting data centers into space, such as crowding out the night sky, which would impact astronomers and other space-based ventures.