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Data centres are buildings filled with racks of processors and other assorted components that run various tasks too big for ordinary computers.
Like any computer, they consume energy, produce heat and take up space.
But while most computers have one or two processors, data centres have tens of thousands.
Enough that their energy, space and cooling requirements have serious environmental impacts.
To minimise these impacts, could space offer a solution?
Space is extremely cold, there’s infinite, uninterrupted solar power and a lot of, well … space.
Unfortunately, it’s not that simple.
Keeping Cool
Space is cold, but it’s also empty. There’s no matter for conduction or convection, so the only way to lose heat is by radiation.
The radiators required to keep a satellite cool are enormous – the ones on the International Space Station (ISS) are each 13.6 metres long and can output 14 kilowatts of heat.
Credit: NASA, 2023. Public Domain
Data centres produce megawatts (MW) of heat. A 1 MW space data centre would need 70 ISS radiators to stay cool – enough to cover the area of seven basketball courts.
While such a cooling system is theoretically possible, it would be extremely costly to get it into orbit.
Space is Expensive
While prices are going down, it’s expensive to launch a satellite. Thousands of dollars per kilogram.
Data centre processors each weigh around 100 grams. Tens of thousands collectively weigh several tonnes and would cost millions to get into orbit.
And that’s just the processors. No brackets, racks, wiring or any other components.
Credit: Samuel Wiki, 2021. Public Domain
Constellations, Not Stations
Constellations of satellites might be more viable for space data processing, with each satellite completing one small part of a larger task.
It’s an idea the European Space Agency is pursuing to help refine the immense datasets produced by observation satellites before they’re sent to Earth.
However, there are risks. The more satellites we put in space, the likelier collisions become.
Much of modern life relies on orbital infrastructure. It’s estimated that 18% of UK GDP relies on satellite services like GPS, time keeping and weather forecasting.
Data centres are equally essential because they maintain all the functions and features of the internet.
Is it worth the risk to send another critical industry to space? Or might discretion be a better avenue to data centre sustainability?
