Orbital data centers, part 1: There’s no way this is economically viable, right?
Text settings Story text Size Small Standard Large Width * Standard Wide Links Standard Orange * Subscribers only Learn more Minimize to nav Editor’s note: This is the first of three feature articles Ars is publishing to explore the financial, technical, and competitive dimensions of orbital data centers. Although the idea of putting data centers into space has long been discussed on a theoretical basis, the technology has rapidly become a red-hot topic. This series will attempt to ground-truth some of the rhetoric flying around. This first installment takes a look at the core economic argument surrounding orbital datacenters; subsequent articles will explore detailed cost modeling at scale, the technical challenges involved, and the…
