Self-assembling data centers in space are becoming reality as Rendezvous Robotics partners with Starcloud
His online calculator is extremely detailed, letting one configure 15 parameter sliders to try and get a feel for how good (or bad) the idea is. Said parameters range from adjusting the launch cost to Low Earth Orbit (LEO), satellite size, GPU failure rates, as well as comparable earthbound figures.
It should be noted that McCalip's math only accounts for the bare logistical differences of a launch versus a standard build, with a lot of assumptions about engineering challenges, and he remarks as much. McCalip goes as far as calling the notion "FOMO and aesthetic futurism", and that "people are using back-of-the-envelope math, doing a terrible job of it, and only confirming whatever conclusion they already want."
That's a shot across the bow at the (literal) pie-in-the-sky ideas of using LEO satellites to host datacenters. It's also easy to understand the frustration of those who wish that datacenter buildouts would move faster. For terrestrial data centers, tons of time is spent navigating legal and literal ground, worrying about water supplies, ecological and carbon output concerns, and so on and so forth.
Solar power is always available, so its effective price can approach near zero, helping with lowering the operational cost. There's no regulation regarding land (or barely any regulation at all), and no need to worry about passing transmission lines either. Cooling looks easy on the surface level, with space radiators being extremely efficient. Plus, with the advancements coming from SpaceX et al are reportedly hovering around $1000 per kg to launch into LEO.
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Reference reading
- https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/big-tech/SPONSORED_LINK_URL
- https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/big-tech/new-calculator-helps-evaluate-the-economics-of-datacenters-in-space-running-the-numbers-on-orbital-computing-reveals-a-brutal-reality#main
- https://www.tomshardware.com
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