Angelo VarlottaMar 13
Prof. Sam Lawler

"Rush to put AI data centers in space poses poorly understood dangers" by Sean Mowbray

https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/rush-to-put-ai-data-centers-in-space-poses-poorly-understood-dangers/

Rush to put AI data centers in space poses poorly understood dangers

Plans are afoot to launch large mega-constellations of AI data centers into Earth orbit. That ambition, pursued by multiple space industry leaders, coincides with a warning from scientists of potentially “catastrophic outcomes,” as the likelihood of satellite collisions in orbit increases. If all the satellites currently in low Earth orbit were suddenly unable to maneuver […]

Conservation news
Mar 13 at 6:06pmWeb
Show thread🔻 aetios 🇪🇺Mar 13
@sundogplanets datacenters typically known for being huge, power intensive and very hot requiring liquid cooling, perfect thing to put in space where putting big things is hard, cooling is hard, and having enough power is a constant issue

I see no issues with this.
Show threadRay McCarthyMar 13

@sundogplanets
Putting them in the sea makes much more sense! Run HV DC power cable to land with Solar Panels and LiFePO4 batteries for night. Plenty of places without cloud or rain.

Anyone with any sense and school high science knowledge would know the "data centres in space" is utter nonsense. Cooling, radiation shielding/hardening and maintenance isn't impossible in orbit, but orders of magnitude more expensive and difficult than on Earth.

Show threadColin B.🇨🇦Mar 13

@sundogplanets at first, I fully supported the idea of sending AI data centres into space.

Then I discovered they were planning to keep them in orbit.

Show threadJackPearseMar 13

@sundogplanets It will lead to thousand of satelites to go down per hour every year.

By math we will see 3 shooting stars each 3 seconds if they would come down within one year. (Lifetime of one sat is about 5 years)

1 - 2 - 3 - fireball - 1 - 2 - 3 - fireball.

Together with China 1.7Million satelites are estimated for launch. (Today 18000 are up there).

Show threadPonygirlMar 13
@sundogplanets Nothing good will come from AI.
Show threadJustSayingMar 13

@sundogplanets

How do they not get.

Chips get hot, you need to transfer that heat to something else (space is cold but literally nothing that you can transfer heat to)

Show threadBruno NicolettiMar 13
@sundogplanets “Rush to put AI data centres in space shows poor understanding of simple physics”, how are they going to economically power these things and dump the waste heat?
Show threadCharles RandallMar 13
@sundogplanets I look forward to learning how they plan to dissipate that much heat in a vacuum
Show threadAymeric BaudMar 13
@sundogplanets the world is full of idiots