Abstract
In this article, I am analyzing whether data centers placed in space could be physically better than data centers on Earth. I focus on the main advantages and limitations by looking at thermodynamics, cooling, solar power, radiation, latency, and launch cost. First, I use Landauer's principle to show that lower temperature lowers the minimum energy required for irreversible computation. Next, I use the Stefan-Boltzmann law to show that a space-based system could reject heat through passive radiation rather than large active cooling systems. After that, I compare solar power in space versus on Earth and show that orbit provides much larger continuous solar input per unit area. However, I then show that radiation in space creates serious problems for normal electronics, and that the speed of light places a strict limit on latency that cannot be engineered away. Finally, I examine launch economics and argue that while ordinary orbital data centers are still heavily constrained, a more specialized system at the Sun-Earth L2 point using RSFQ superconducting logic may represent a physically distinct and much more efficient computing platform. Overall, the physics suggests that space-based computing is not a good replacement for normal terrestrial cloud infrastructure, but it may become a strong option for large, energy-intensive, latency-tolerant workloads.
(Image credit: NASA) https://www.sify.com/data-centers/from-earth-to-orbit-data-centers-are-heading-out-to-space/