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re: Elon Musk: Space X will put data centers in orbit
Posted on 11/1/25 at 4:25 pm to rickgrimes
Posted on 11/1/25 at 4:25 pm to rickgrimes
Moon would be a great place for data centers. Very cool, no moisture, just gotta keep out the dust and get lower latency data transfer
2
Posted on 11/1/25 at 4:27 pm to Upperdecker
quote:
and get lower latency data transfer
Starlink engineers have done a pretty good job solving the latency issues of data from space. Ping on Starlink is a far cry from where it used to be with other providers like HughesNet
Posted on 11/1/25 at 4:29 pm to rickgrimes
Won't have to worry about cooling the system right?
Posted on 11/1/25 at 4:30 pm to OWLFAN86
But do they go straight to Skynet or do they pacify humanity with sexbots? Asking for a friend.
Posted on 11/1/25 at 4:32 pm to stout
quote:
Starlink engineers have done a pretty good job solving the latency issues of data from space.
It’s still not close to as good as fiber or even regular broadband. And that’s only transferring to lower orbit from Earth and back. It’s not actually outer space. Going to and from the moon is way way further and more complicated
Posted on 11/1/25 at 4:35 pm to The Third Leg
quote:
but pure science fiction.
He has more successes than failures, and a long track record of turning those big ideas into real products and companies. When his next big project works out, a lot of people like you still won’t acknowledge it. You’ll just move the goalposts and find something new to criticize.
Also, assuming data centers will look anything like they do today in 10–20 years is short-sighted. Look at how far GPUs, storage, and compute infrastructure have come in just the last 5–10 years. Technology compounds. Whether you lean on Moore’s Law or the broader idea of accelerating returns, the point is the same: data centers a decade from now won’t resemble current designs in scale, efficiency, or architecture.
Posted on 11/1/25 at 4:36 pm to Upperdecker
quote:
Going to and from the moon is way way further and more complicated
Yea, good point.
Posted on 11/1/25 at 4:43 pm to stout
lol. No he doesn’t have more successes than failures. Guys like him fail spectacularly over and over and over. He probably fails 100x for every smashing success, but his successes are enormous and he stays in the public making bombastic claims like this one so that people like you believe it’s possible because the guy has achieved innovations and successfully lobbied the government to help subsidize it.
Posted on 11/1/25 at 4:48 pm to rickgrimes
What happens when “orbit” is full of giant metal space junk? Will it all just fall down after a while and if so, who is to say it won’t land on someone? Or there is so much shite up there they all bump into each other?
Posted on 11/1/25 at 4:52 pm to rickgrimes
He's also been talking about using Tesla cars for AI computing power when they are not in use. He's already built an enormous data center right under everyone's nose. Tesla is the AI play.
Posted on 11/1/25 at 4:53 pm to Rick9Plus
quote:
What happens when “orbit” is full of giant metal space junk? Will it all just fall down after a while and if so, who is to say it won’t land on someone? Or there is so much shite up there they all bump into each other?
Most will burn up in the atmosphere. The rest will be picked up by SpaceX for a reasonable rate.
Posted on 11/1/25 at 5:01 pm to TigerMyth36
quote:well the aliens have a habit of anal probing so no thank you
t or do they pacify humanity with sexbots?
Posted on 11/1/25 at 6:35 pm to The Third Leg
quote:
Power supply for modern data centers is a challenge here on earth
Id look into astrophages.
Posted on 11/1/25 at 6:44 pm to i am dan
quote:
Won't have to worry about cooling the system right?
That’s actually my concern. Yes, space can be cold, but if you’re trying to cool something that is producing heat, that doesn’t do you any good if the object is in a vacuum. I’m genuinely curious how you would cool a large scale data center in the vacuum of space.
Posted on 11/1/25 at 6:50 pm to Joshjrn
Imagine the power required just to circulate and push heat away from those radiators. (how I assume they would cool the data center considering it’s in a vacuum). Then add redundancy, shielding, meteoroid protection…
and oh yeah, the astronomical cost (pun definitely intended) of getting all that mass into orbit. Sounds like an engineering nightmare.
and oh yeah, the astronomical cost (pun definitely intended) of getting all that mass into orbit. Sounds like an engineering nightmare.
This post was edited on 11/1/25 at 6:53 pm
Posted on 11/1/25 at 6:55 pm to Klark Kent
quote:
Imagine the power required just to circulate and push heat away from those radiators. (how I assume they would cool the data center considering it’s in a vacuum). Then add redundancy, shielding, meteoroid protection… and oh yeah, the astronomical cost (pun definitely intended) of getting all that mass into orbit. Sounds like an engineering nightmare.
I honestly feel like remotely placed tidal data centers might make more sense, if you can make them resilient enough.
Posted on 11/1/25 at 6:57 pm to Joshjrn
that’s a much more feasible idea.
Posted on 11/1/25 at 7:00 pm to rickgrimes
There are several companies looking at this. I think Amazon just bought one. The advantage for SX is that they will be able to deliver an entire station in a couple launches.
The biggest issue right now with data centers is energy costs. It is a dirty tech, just like Bitcoin mining. Solar panels in LEO are about twice as efficient as those on Earth. Tie this into the Starlink system, which will continue to be improved with new versions, and a space-based data center is very much doable.
The biggest issue right now with data centers is energy costs. It is a dirty tech, just like Bitcoin mining. Solar panels in LEO are about twice as efficient as those on Earth. Tie this into the Starlink system, which will continue to be improved with new versions, and a space-based data center is very much doable.
Posted on 11/1/25 at 7:00 pm to Rick9Plus
quote:
What happens when “orbit” is full of giant metal space junk? Will it all just fall down after a while and if so, who is to say it won’t land on someone? Or there is so much shite up there they all bump into each other?
Planned de-orbit over the southern oceans.
The first starlink satellites are already falling back to earth.
When talking over the next 1000 years this may happen. Technology advances at a wild pace. Seems we will have to find a solution for size and power demand long before space data center is a thing.
This post was edited on 11/1/25 at 7:03 pm
Posted on 11/1/25 at 7:03 pm to stout
quote:
Starlink engineers have done a pretty good job solving the latency issues of data from space. Ping on Starlink is a far cry from where it used to be with other providers like HughesNet
But they haven't been able to bend physics yet. A decent terrestrial ping is sub 10ms. The theoretical minimum ping from the moon would be in the 2500ms range. Currently, that is fine for AI queries, but trash for standard data centers.
Space-based servers are an interesting possibility, but you need massive paradigm shifts in both power production and computing density to make it more than a pipedream. Just consider the cost of moving the Meta AI site in Richmond Parish to orbit, it is the size of Manhattan. Even with the cooling infrastructure removal the onboarding of the power production would still leave it incredibly massive.
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