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Starcloud can’t put a data centre in space at $8.2M in one Starship

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Re: Starcloud can’t put a data centre in space at $8.2M in one Starship

#261

Post by bryanrasmussen »

FredPret wrote: post #26
bryanrasmussen wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Shooting down a satellite is a major step that creates a mess of space junk, angering everybody. unless everybody is angry at satellite in which case it is a price everybody is even eager to pay. >Plus you can just have a couple of politicians from each major power park their money on that satellite. I've long had the idea that there are fashions in corruption and a point at which to be corrupt just becomes too gauc…

By that logic, politicians around the world would make it illegal for themselves to trade stock on their insider knowledge. I'm not holding my breath. See: https://unusualwhales.com/politics . Some of these politicians on both sides are very good and consistent stock pickers indeed.

huh?..

I'm sorry but what logic is it you're referring to here? Is it the idea that there are fashions in corruption? If so by that logic we are probably in an era of high corruption.

Is it the idea that if I were a corrupt politician and I had equally corrupt enemies I would use my knowledge of their corruption to dirty trick them? Because ... dirty tricking them and getting them to lose all their finance at one time is not quite the same as passing a law making it difficult for everyone to get more finance from hereon out.

I'm not following exactly what logic of mine you think you've defeated with observing that there are a lot of corrupt politicians nowadays?

Re: Starcloud can’t put a data centre in space at $8.2M in one Starship

#262

Post by starik36 »

Brian_K_White wrote: post #67
xnx wrote: post #3

Starcloud isn't even worth the attention to point out what an infeasible idea it is.

Maybe SpinLaunch can get it up there. And the power for the SpinLaunch motor can come from Solar Roadways.

There was a video from Scott Manley about this several years back. And he was very skeptical that it's even feasible for SpinLaunch to place something useful into orbit. And they haven't yet.

Re: Starcloud can’t put a data centre in space at $8.2M in one Starship

#263

Post by abdullahkhalids »

weinzierl wrote: post #138

Why do they want to put a data center in space in the first place? Free cooling? Doesn't make much sense to me. As the article points out the radiators need to me massive. Access to solar energy? Solar is more efficient in space, I'll give them that, but does that really outweigh the whole hassle to put the panels in space in the first place? Physical isolation and security? Against manipulation maybe, but not agains…

One of the answers in OP is

> A lot of waste heat is generated running TDCs, which contributes to climate change—so migrating to space would alleviate the toll on Earth’s thermal budget. This seems like a compelling environmental argument. TDCs already consume about 1-1.5% of global electricity and it’s safe to assume that this will only grow in the pursuit of AGI.

The comparison here is between solar powered TDCs in Space vs TDCs on Earth.

- A TDC in space contributes to global warming due to mining+manufacturing emissions and spaceflight emissions.

- A comparable TDC on Earth would be solar+battery run. You will likely need a larger solar panel array than in space. Note a solar panel in operation does not really contribute to global warming. So the question is whether the additional Earth solar panel+battery manufacturing emissions are greater than launching the smaller array + TDC into space.

I would guess launching into space has much higher emissions.

Re: Starcloud can’t put a data centre in space at $8.2M in one Starship

#264

Post by spullara »

GlenTheMachine wrote: post #76

Space roboticist here. As with a lot of things, it isn't the initial outlay, it's the maintenance costs. Terrestrial datacenters have parts fail and get replaced all the time. The mass analysis given here -- which appears quite good, at first glance -- doesn't including any mass, energy, or thermal system numbers for the infrastructure you would need to have to replace failed components. As a first cut, this would re…

you don't replace it, you just let it fail and over time the datacenter wears out.

Re: Starcloud can’t put a data centre in space at $8.2M in one Starship

#265

Post by rob_c »

Always entertaining to read how some things are so obviously wrong as to be laughable, but this is somewhere between solar roadways being feasible and hyperloop being physically possible. It's a grab for money from idiot investors imo. (fitting in with OpenAI's current strategy to dilute control I'll admit)

Re: Starcloud can’t put a data centre in space at $8.2M in one Starship

#267

Post by lupusreal »

teekert wrote: post #140
weinzierl wrote: post #131

I worked in aerospace for a couple of years in the beginning of my career. While my area of expertise was the mechanical design I shared my office with the guy who did the thermal design and I learned two things: 1. Satellites are mostly run at room temperature. It doesn't have to be that way but it simplifies a lot of things. 2. Every satellite is a delicately balanced system where heat generation and actively radia…

Lay people associate space with cold because nearly every scifi movie has people freezing over in seconds when exposed to the vacuum of space (insert Picard face-palm gif). Even The Expanse, even them! Although they are otherwise so realistic, that I have to say I started doubting myself a bit. I wonder what would really would happen and how fast... People even complained that Leia did not freeze over (in stead of co…

2001 did it pretty close to right, but watch it with normies and they'll laugh at it because it doesn't meet their expectations.

Re: Starcloud can’t put a data centre in space at $8.2M in one Starship

#268

Post by rob_c »

Havoc wrote: post #191

I’m mostly puzzled by how this got yc funding. Everything I’ve seen thus far suggests this is nowhere close to feasible

> I’m mostly puzzled by how this got yc funding.

The track record here I think explains "moonshot" investments on wild promises by VCs looking to cash out mid-track. It's a financial grift, not a technical challenge to actually be overcome.

Re: Starcloud can’t put a data centre in space at $8.2M in one Starship

#269

Post by ceejayoz »

throw10920 wrote: post #166

> Starcloud’s target is to achieve a 5 GW cluster with solar arrays spanning 4 km by 4 km Doesn't this massively surface area also mean a proportionately large risk of getting damaged by orbital debris?

Yes. You'd have to design them to be able to take a certain level of hits.

This is already a thing on the ISS, Shuttle, Voyager probes, etc.

Re: Starcloud can’t put a data centre in space at $8.2M in one Starship

#270

Post by c22 »

notpushkin wrote: post #91
mandevil wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

International space law (starting with the Outer Space Treaty of 1967) says that nations are responsible for all spacecraft they launch, no matter whether the government or a non-governmental group launches them. So a server farm launched by a Danish company is governed by Danish law just the same as if they were on the ground- and exposed to the same ability to put someone into jail if they don't comply with a legal…

What if you’re a stateless person? (Not an easy status to acquire these days, but any US citizen can just renounce their citizenship without getting a new one, for example.)

What if you just launch it in secret and don't tell anybody?
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