this post was submitted on 26 Sep 2026

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Building data centers in space has to be the stupidest shit I've ever read (lemmy.world)

submitted 2 weeks ago by jaykrown@lemmy.world to c/general@lemmy.world

14 comments fedilink hide all child comments

I think we have an obligation to halt any development of data centers in space. While climate change is set to destroy our future, we can't afford to be focused on that bullshit.

top 14 comments

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[–] Peppycito@sh.itjust.works 17 points 2 weeks ago

Yes. Space: the final frontier of capitalism. By providing cheap access to space, Spacex was counting on new markets being created and everyone would want to launch their own satellite. Turns out the only use cases for space are science, war, and tourism. They need more than those industries offer to make their rocket systems worth it, so they've come up with the bullshittiest problem to solve, data centers IN SPACE

[–] yesman@lemmy.world 17 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

The thing that makes data centers in space stupid is physics.

nevermind the expense of launching, maintaining, or upgrading server racks 500km above the ground. How the hell are you going to cool them?

I've seen scifi proposals about liquids in a cooling loop being exposed to the vacuum of space. But you still have to ask, why spend a billion dollars for a tech that can't compete with a 120mm fan back on Earth?

[+] impairedimperator@lemmy.zip -8 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Because we can.

While this particular use case is stupid, with the exception of mildly conspiratorial Elysium-type assumptions, overcoming the problem of effective cooling in space is necessary for future space projects. This provides a testing platform for solving the problem.

I always wondered, why not have essentially heat batteries? You could use something like a heat pump to dump heat into a thermal mass for the short term. Maybe use those to power a Stirling generator in a central location? Be like stopping for gas, but also switching out your heat block? Or, maybe like a fuel pre-heater? Heck, you could even have just a high heat capacity material that you dump heat into and then vent superheated matter for fine control thrusters?

[–] BradleyUffner@lemmy.world 7 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

This post illustrates a serious lack of knowledge and understanding of how heat transfer and thermodynamic systems work outside of a sci-fi setting.

[–] impairedimperator@lemmy.zip 0 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Heat can be stored, ya know. Doesn't all have to be radiated at once.

[–] BradleyUffner@lemmy.world 5 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

Yes, it can. You still have to get rid of it eventually though, and do it faster than it's being generated. That's the problem in space. Look at the cooling required here in Earth, with an atmosphere and ready access to water. Now try doing that in space with none of that, using current or even near-future tech.

As an example, you talk about ejecting mass to get rid of heat. The most practical material to use would actually be water. A small 10MW data center would need about 250 TONS of water per day to absorbe that much heat (iron would need over 1000 tons). It would cost over 38 million dollars per day to replace that water and nearly 150 million for the iron. And that's just for one small data center.

[–] impairedimperator@lemmy.zip -2 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Theoretically it would actually be hydrogen, with helium as a distant second, which are relatively abundant in space. That opens up questions of hydrogen embrittlement, which are a major stumbling block of hydrogen fuels on earth as well (that and most hydrogen fuels are made from cracking fossil fuels). Or harvesting hydrogen/helium reliably in space. Both problems that would have to be solved for long term space travel, using nuclear fusion. Not to mention solving the original overheating issue, which would also need to be solved for a spaceship larger than a lunar lander.

Of course, given a closed loop radiator based system, radiation efficiency depends on temperature, so molten salts may well be the way to go if you're not using pure elements. Water doesn't like being water all that much when it is maintained under pressures and temperatures that start with thousands of atmospheres and degrees.

So, to reiterate my original post with all of the downvotes, given current technology it's stupid. But then again, given current technology going to space itself it stupid and never worth the price tag. Spend enough doing stupid things and you figure out ways to make them less stupid.

[–] cinoreus@lemmy.world 1 points 12 hours ago* (last edited 8 hours ago) (1 children)

Cause, none of these solutions you talk about are viable enough.

You talk about harvesting hydrogen from deep space. Good luck with that. Molten salt radiator is a horrible idea when temperature regulation is itself the problem.

I don't wanna sound rude, but I don't think you have an engineering background. Air pressure in near Earth orbit is nearly 10^-13 atmos, and deeper into space is calculated in atoms per square meter. How do you think we're to ever extract hydrogen from this low pressure? It's not possible. And by not possible I mean too tedious of a work for too little hydrogen.

[–] impairedimperator@lemmy.zip 1 points 4 hours ago* (last edited 4 hours ago)

You're right.

You know what else is really fuckin' stupid? Thinking that carving up rocks can make them do basic logical operations. I mean yeah like in theory you could, but you're gonna have to chisel them for years. Plus, the resulting rocks would be massive, because it's frankly impossible to make a chisel nanometers across and then still use it. What do you mean you're gonna carve rocks with light? That's even stupider. Light can't carve rocks.

The microprocessor in whatever device you used to write that is simply not viable enough to even try.

[–] Malica@lemmy.zip 4 points 1 week ago

They're monumental idiots. I can't believe people actually think rich=smart.

[–] Hamartiogonic@sopuli.xyz 3 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

What about vaccinations spreading magnetic microchips or 5G towers spreading a biological virus? I think it’s pretty hard to beat that level of stupidity.

[–] 4am@lemmy.zip 4 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Yeah but no one was doing it

[–] Hamartiogonic@sopuli.xyz 1 points 2 weeks ago

But people did respond with real actions to a thing that wasn’t happening. The allegation was dumb, but doing something about it was even dumber.

Nobody was using the towers to spread viruses, but people attacked those towers regardless.

[–] myyass@lemmy.world 0 points 1 week ago

Building data centers ~~in space~~ has to be the stupidest shit I've ever read.