Is It Really Impossible To Cool A Datacenter In Space?

[tonyget]

Conclusion，putting data center into space doesn't work well with thermodynamics

 

[Fred Chen]

Yeah, cooling being radiation-limited, and also heating from the Sun, Earth, and elsewhere.

At the end, he acknowledges we haven't even talked about the power supply in space.

 

[tonyget]

Also the recycling problem. On earth data center dispose old hardware every few years，how do they do that in space

 

[Daniel Nenni]

Definitely worth looking into. Even better would be to optimize the software and require less hardware. Throwing big iron at a problem has always been a knee jerk reaction.

Way back when I saw dueling keynotes Bill Gates and Andy Grove at a consumer electronics conference in Las Vegas. Maybe the precursor to CES. Bill Gates said hardware would always be the compute limitation. Andy Grove said software will be the limitation. Both were right of course.

 

[user nl]

Regarding the power issue of AI, this is what is happening the coming 5 years, off grid if you can.

Very nice overview article in NYT of all that is happening now with the new AI data centres being constructed all over the US.
Has a great image of the new INTEL construction site in OHIO and all the datacentres around it that are being developed.

By Rebecca F. Elliott and Harry Stevens

March 18, 2026

Why Tech Giants Are Ditching the Power Grid​

Seeking power for data centers, Meta and other companies plan to use equipment that is expensive and polluting.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/03/18/business/energy-environment/data-center-energy-gas-generators.html

...................................................................................................
Industry analysts and executives also question whether power plants built alongside data centers will remain competitive if it becomes easier to connect to the grid.

Siemens Energy makes some of the equipment that the New Albany power plants plan to use. But even that company’s chief executive, Christian Bruch, is skeptical about using smaller machines as permanent power sources.

“These will not be long-term installations,” Mr. Bruch said in a recent interview, discussing the broader trend. “Is it good in terms of efficiency? And is that a smart power supply solution? Absolutely not.”

 

[Xebec]

Also the recycling problem. On earth data center dispose old hardware every few years，how do they do that in space

Old satellites are recycled by burning them up via Earths atmosphere; a short deorbit burn

Satellites also naturally lose orbit - though how long it takes depends on the height of the orbit. (Can be weeks to hundreds of years or more depending).

 

[Xebec]

Definitely worth looking into. Even better would be to optimize the software and require less hardware. Throwing big iron at a problem has always been a knee jerk reaction.

Way back when I saw dueling keynotes Bill Gates and Andy Grove at a consumer electronics conference in Las Vegas. Maybe the precursor to CES. Bill Gates said hardware would always be the compute limitation. Andy Grove said software will be the limitation. Both were right of course.

Given @ trillion transistors are required to run Windows nowadays, I'm thinking Andy was more right than Bill

 

[tonyget]

Old satellites are recycled by burning them up via Earths atmosphere; a short deorbit burn

Satellites also naturally lose orbit - though how long it takes depends on the height of the orbit. (Can be weeks to hundreds of years or more depending).

Data centers don't just throw away old hardware，they sell them to server recyclers. They can recover a lot money from second hand components especially DRAM

But if they just burn the whole thing down at atmosphere，it will be expensive

 

[count]

I think the justification around data centers in space probably has less to do with cost (It's going to be way more expensive) than it does to do with jursidiction. In space you can do (almost) whatever you want without pesky governments stopping you - that's what makes it attractive to someone like Musk.

 

[Xebec]

Data centers don't just throw away old hardware，they sell them to server recyclers. They can recover a lot money from second hand components especially DRAM

But if they just burn the whole thing down at atmosphere，it will be expensive

Agreed -- though the space data centers are likely to have a longer cycle life than what's on Earth. They'll be swarms of satellites initially (re-purposed Starlink v3 or v4's) - each with their own power supply (battery and solar). So most likely they'll want to use them for several years, even if 'better' stuff is available - because deorbiting the full stack and bringing to Earth for recycling is probably more expensive than launching it in the first place (with today's technology).

 

[Xebec]

I think the justification around data centers in space probably has less to do with cost (It's going to be way more expensive) than it does to do with jursidiction. In space you can do (almost) whatever you want without pesky governments stopping you - that's what makes it attractive to someone like Musk.

OT - side benefit is it keeps land property and local energy prices down -- as building data centers make those things more costly for.. everyone else.