Why Space and Data Centers Don't Go Together
Peter Zeihan
6 min
Anyone who tells you that data centers in space are coming because we don't have room is lying to you. So anyone who tells you that data centers in space are coming because we don't have room is lying to you.
-
Elon Musk
Chapters
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0:00
The Question
The video addresses a Patreon question about space-based data centers.
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0:21
Data Center Requirements
The video details the massive weight, power, and cooling needs of data centers.
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1:50
Launch Weight Estimates
Moving the equipment requires roughly 250 Starship launches. The video explains the need for massive habitats and radiation shielding in orbit.
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2:40
Cooling System Challenges
The video describes the impracticality of cooling systems in a vacuum environment.
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5:05
Radiator Costs and Movement
Radiators must be enormous and require constant movement to function. The idea is fundamentally flawed and deceptive.
Key points
- 0:21
Data centers require massive amounts of electricity, coolant, and liquid pumping systems.
- 1:26
Moving the computational racks alone requires roughly 20 million pounds of weight.
- 1:50
The total equipment and coolant would require approximately 250 Starship launches to lift.
- 1:50
Operating the facility requires habitats equivalent to twenty to forty International Space Stations.
- 2:40
High-end chips are not rated for the vibration, cold, heat, or radiation found in space.
- 2:40
Radiation shielding adds another 20 million pounds of weight to the total system.
- 2:40
Cooling radiators must be hundreds of kilometers wide because space acts as an insulator.
- 2:40
The cost of the radiators alone is estimated at roughly 250 billion dollars.
- 5:05
Radiators must constantly move to face away from the sun to dissipate heat effectively.
- 5:05
Anyone claiming space data centers are coming due to a lack of room on Earth is lying.
Who and where
People · 1
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Elon Musk 1
American businessman (born 1971)
Photo 1
1. Photo: Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons · Wikidata · redrawn in our house style (Elon Musk)
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