zlacker

>>g-mork+(OP)
A former NASA engineer with a PhD in space electronics who later worked at Google for 10 years wrote an article about why datacenters in space are very technically challenging:

https://taranis.ie/datacenters-in-space-are-a-terrible-horri...

I don't have any specialized knowledge of the physics but I saw an article suggesting the real reason for the push to build them in space is to hedge against political pushback preventing construction on Earth.

I can't find the original article but here is one about datacenter pushback:

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2025-08-20/ai-and...

But even if political pushback on Earth is the real reason, it still seems datacenters in space are extremely technically challenging/impossible to build.

>>n_u+zs
"Technically challenging", a nice way to say "impossible"

>>edhela+Mt
Just like rockets landing themselves

>>boxede+Yy
No, rockets landing themselves is just controlling the mechanism you use to have them take off, and builds on trust vectoring technology from 1970s jet fighters based on sound physics.

Figuring out how to radiate a lot of waste heat into a vacuum is fighting physics. Ordinarily we use a void on earth as a very effective _insulator_ to keep our hot drinks hot.

>>sollew+WB
> Figuring out how to radiate a lot of waste heat into a vacuum is fighting physics.

Radiators should work pretty well, and large solar panels can do double duty as radiators.

Also, curiously, newer GPUs are developed to require significantly less cooling than previous generations. Perhaps not so coincidentally?

>>fooker+vF
1kW TDP chips need LESS cooling?

>>kristj+aY
Yes, Rubin reportedly can deal with running significantly hotter.

That makes radiating a much more practical approach to cooling it.

>>fooker+v31
I see what you’re saying - higher design temp radiates better despite more energy overall to dissipate.

>>kristj+tk1
> I see what you’re saying - higher design temp radiates better despite more energy overall to dissipate.

Yes, running hotter will cause more energy to be radiated.

but

These parts are not at all designed to radiate heat - just look at the surface area of the package with respect to the amount of power they consume.