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Why space servers FAIL Execs want to put data centers in space, but there's a massive physics problem: vacuums have no convection cooling. Discover why cooling servers in space relies purely on infrared radiation! Big thanks to ThreatLocker for sponsoring my trip to ZTW26 and also for sponsoring this...

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David Bombal

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467,047 views • 5 months ago •via X (Twitter)

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With just a quick look into some basic physics and logistics of putting a data center in space, the idea becomes comical. First, you have to put massive amounts of hardware, cooling systems, and power into space. Then you have to completely reengineer the data center for space. Then you have to think about maintenance. Oh, and cooling these things down in a vacuum is no easy task. Full Video: #datacenter #space
2:22

With just a quick look into some basic physics and logistics of putting a data center in space, the idea becomes comical. First, you have to put massive amounts of hardware, cooling systems, and power into space. Then you have to completely reengineer the data center for space. Then you have to think about maintenance. Oh, and cooling these things down in a vacuum is no easy task. Full Video: #datacenter #space

Peter Zeihan

32,601 views • 1 month ago

NEWS: Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang announced today that the company is working on a new chip/computer for orbital data-centers called Nvidia Vera Rubin Space-1. "It's going to start data-centers out in space. Of course, in space there's no conduction, no convection, there's just radiation, so we have to figure out how to cool these systems out in space, but we got lots of great engineers working on it."
0:46

NEWS: Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang announced today that the company is working on a new chip/computer for orbital data-centers called Nvidia Vera Rubin Space-1. "It's going to start data-centers out in space. Of course, in space there's no conduction, no convection, there's just radiation, so we have to figure out how to cool these systems out in space, but we got lots of great engineers working on it."

Sawyer Merritt

457,069 views • 5 months ago

Elon Musk: The lowest cost place to put AI data centers will be space ---- “The lowest cost place to put AI will be space. I think the case is a no-brainer for building AI, solar-powered AI data centers in space because, as you mentioned, it's also very cold in space. If you're in the shadow, then it's very cold in space, just 3 degrees Kelvin. So you just have your solar panels facing the Sun and then a radiator that's like pointed away from the Sun, so it has no Sun incidence and then it's just cooling. It's a very efficient cooling system. So the net effect is that the lowest cost place to put AI will be space and that'll be true within two years, maybe three, three at the latest.”
0:44

Elon Musk: The lowest cost place to put AI data centers will be space ---- “The lowest cost place to put AI will be space. I think the case is a no-brainer for building AI, solar-powered AI data centers in space because, as you mentioned, it's also very cold in space. If you're in the shadow, then it's very cold in space, just 3 degrees Kelvin. So you just have your solar panels facing the Sun and then a radiator that's like pointed away from the Sun, so it has no Sun incidence and then it's just cooling. It's a very efficient cooling system. So the net effect is that the lowest cost place to put AI will be space and that'll be true within two years, maybe three, three at the latest.”

Beanie👾

1,098,191 views • 7 months ago

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang in new interview on orbital datacenters: "The challenge of course is that cooling, you can't take advantage of conduction and convection, so you can only use radiation, and radiation requires very large surfaces, but that's not an impossible things to solve. There's a lot of space in space. We're going to go explore it. We're already radiation hardened. We have Cuda in satellites around the world. In the meantime, we're going to explore what is the architecture of datacenters look like in space. It'll take years, but that's ok. I got time." via The All-In Podcast
0:56

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang in new interview on orbital datacenters: "The challenge of course is that cooling, you can't take advantage of conduction and convection, so you can only use radiation, and radiation requires very large surfaces, but that's not an impossible things to solve. There's a lot of space in space. We're going to go explore it. We're already radiation hardened. We have Cuda in satellites around the world. In the meantime, we're going to explore what is the architecture of datacenters look like in space. It'll take years, but that's ok. I got time." via The All-In Podcast

Sawyer Merritt

1,268,279 views • 5 months ago

"The most important thing in the next 3-4 years is data centers in space. In every way, data centers in space, from a first principles perspective, are superior to data centers on earth. In space, you can keep a satellite in the sun 24 hours a day. The sun is 30% more intense, which results in six times more irradiance than on Earth. So you don't need a battery. The cooling in these data centers is incredibly complicated. Space cooling is free. You just put a radiator on the dark side of the satellite. The only thing faster than a laser going through a fiber optic cable is a laser going through absolute vacuum. Link satellites with lasers, and you have a faster and more coherent network than any data center on Earth."
3:01

"The most important thing in the next 3-4 years is data centers in space. In every way, data centers in space, from a first principles perspective, are superior to data centers on earth. In space, you can keep a satellite in the sun 24 hours a day. The sun is 30% more intense, which results in six times more irradiance than on Earth. So you don't need a battery. The cooling in these data centers is incredibly complicated. Space cooling is free. You just put a radiator on the dark side of the satellite. The only thing faster than a laser going through a fiber optic cable is a laser going through absolute vacuum. Link satellites with lasers, and you have a faster and more coherent network than any data center on Earth."

Patrick OShaughnessy

8,215,427 views • 8 months ago

Elon Musk says Space will be the lowest cost place to put AI within the next 2–3 years: “It’s a no brainer for building Solar-Powered AI Data Centers in space because, as you mentioned, it’s also very cold in space. If you’re in the shadow, then it’s very cold, just three degrees Kelvin. So you just have solar panels facing the sun and then a radiator that’s pointed away from the sun, so it has no sun incidence, and then it’s just cooling. It’s a very efficient cooling system. So, net effect is that the lowest cost place to put AI will be space, and that’ll be true within two years, maybe three at the latest.”
0:48

Elon Musk says Space will be the lowest cost place to put AI within the next 2–3 years: “It’s a no brainer for building Solar-Powered AI Data Centers in space because, as you mentioned, it’s also very cold in space. If you’re in the shadow, then it’s very cold, just three degrees Kelvin. So you just have solar panels facing the sun and then a radiator that’s pointed away from the sun, so it has no sun incidence, and then it’s just cooling. It’s a very efficient cooling system. So, net effect is that the lowest cost place to put AI will be space, and that’ll be true within two years, maybe three at the latest.”

Nic Cruz Patane

115,898 views • 7 months ago

"It's a no brainer for building solar powered AI data centers in space, you just have solar panels facing the sun, & a radiator that's pointed away from sun, then it's just cooling. The lowest cost place to put AI will be space, & that'll be true within 3 years." 一 Elon Musk
0:44

"It's a no brainer for building solar powered AI data centers in space, you just have solar panels facing the sun, & a radiator that's pointed away from sun, then it's just cooling. The lowest cost place to put AI will be space, & that'll be true within 3 years." 一 Elon Musk

DogeDesigner

6,138,329 views • 7 months ago

The Cisco AI Pod Explained Big thank you to Cisco for sponsoring my trip to the Cisco Partner Summit and for sponsoring this video! Explore the new Cisco Secure AI Factory hardware featuring Nvidia Blackwell GPUs, 800G switches, and the massive C880A. See how these components build the ultimate AI Pod for 2025 data centers. #cisco #sponsored #CiscoPS25 ​⁠
2:32

The Cisco AI Pod Explained Big thank you to Cisco for sponsoring my trip to the Cisco Partner Summit and for sponsoring this video! Explore the new Cisco Secure AI Factory hardware featuring Nvidia Blackwell GPUs, 800G switches, and the massive C880A. See how these components build the ultimate AI Pod for 2025 data centers. #cisco #sponsored #CiscoPS25 ​⁠

David Bombal

13,495 views • 9 months ago

$RKLB: This morning on Bloomberg, Peter Beck discussed the SpaceX IPO, the race to raise capital in the space industry and the potential timeline for data centers in space with Bloomberg.
5:51

$RKLB: This morning on Bloomberg, Peter Beck discussed the SpaceX IPO, the race to raise capital in the space industry and the potential timeline for data centers in space with Bloomberg.

Space Investor

37,674 views • 2 months ago

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang in new interview on orbital datacenters: "We have 24/7 solar. We've got all that idle power. I want to evacuate it as fast as possible; There's no conduction, no convection. Just radiation. But space is big, and we're just gonna put giant radiators out there. I've sent engineers to go work on the problem. We're learning a lot about it. How do we deal with radiation, degrading performance, continuous testing, redundancy, degrade."
1:36

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang in new interview on orbital datacenters: "We have 24/7 solar. We've got all that idle power. I want to evacuate it as fast as possible; There's no conduction, no convection. Just radiation. But space is big, and we're just gonna put giant radiators out there. I've sent engineers to go work on the problem. We're learning a lot about it. How do we deal with radiation, degrading performance, continuous testing, redundancy, degrade."

Sawyer Merritt

252,217 views • 5 months ago

ELON MUSK PREDICTS SPACE WILL BE THE CHEAPEST PLACE TO RUN AI INFERENCE “I think the case is a no-brainer for building solar-powered AI data centers in space” In space, you get unlimited solar power with panels facing the sun In the shadow, it’s freezing cold - just 3 Kelvin - giving you an incredibly efficient natural cooling system with a radiator pointed away from the sun
0:43

ELON MUSK PREDICTS SPACE WILL BE THE CHEAPEST PLACE TO RUN AI INFERENCE “I think the case is a no-brainer for building solar-powered AI data centers in space” In space, you get unlimited solar power with panels facing the sun In the shadow, it’s freezing cold - just 3 Kelvin - giving you an incredibly efficient natural cooling system with a radiator pointed away from the sun

X Freeze

639,663 views • 6 months ago

.delian on data centers in space: "Do I think that the space economics are going to beat out nuclear powered data centers run by Crusoe in Texas? No, man, come on." "In order for that to work, you have to be short nuclear, short optical fiber on the ground, short the ability build buildings, short solar panels, short batteries. All of those things are making incredible progress super rapidly and in space those things are more complex." "There might be some slivers where it makes sense to have data centers in space, but I feel very confident that it's going to be slivers."
3:39

.delian on data centers in space: "Do I think that the space economics are going to beat out nuclear powered data centers run by Crusoe in Texas? No, man, come on." "In order for that to work, you have to be short nuclear, short optical fiber on the ground, short the ability build buildings, short solar panels, short batteries. All of those things are making incredible progress super rapidly and in space those things are more complex." "There might be some slivers where it makes sense to have data centers in space, but I feel very confident that it's going to be slivers."

TBPN

169,637 views • 8 months ago

Tesla Self-Driving 14.3.6 drove me to the Century City mall and parked in the parking garage. Thanks to @EVJect for sponsoring this video! Use the link in the replies to get 30% off your order.
15:13

Tesla Self-Driving 14.3.6 drove me to the Century City mall and parked in the parking garage. Thanks to @EVJect for sponsoring this video! Use the link in the replies to get 30% off your order.

Whole Mars Catalog

47,794 views • 1 month ago

Elon Musk explains why put AI data center into space: cost of the energy. 1. Scalability: Harder to scale solar farm on ground due to regulations 2. Effectiveness: No atmosphere, clouds, day night cycle or seasonality in space. 3. No batteries needed: It's always sunny in space, no batteries needed for the night.
1:00

Elon Musk explains why put AI data center into space: cost of the energy. 1. Scalability: Harder to scale solar farm on ground due to regulations 2. Effectiveness: No atmosphere, clouds, day night cycle or seasonality in space. 3. No batteries needed: It's always sunny in space, no batteries needed for the night.

Doge Tipping

21,712 views • 5 months ago

Philip Johnston (Philip Johnston) is the co-founder and CEO of Starcloud, the company building data centers in space. In November 2025, Starcloud launched an Nvidia H100 GPU into orbit and trained the first large language model in space. They've since raised $200 million, hit a billion-dollar valuation just 17 months after YC demo day and filed with the FCC to deploy 88,000 more satellites. In this episode of Lightcone Podcast, Philip walks us through their wild origin story, the engineering challenges behind the Starcloud-1, why they booked a SpaceX launch before they even knew what they were building and how data centers in space make sense both economically and politically. 00:39 — Why Build Data Centers in Space? 01:40 — The Insight That Started Starcloud 04:43 — Launching Starcloud-1 09:45 — The Engineering Behind Data Centers in Orbit 13:49 — Why 100 VCs Said No 16:12 — Book the Launch Before You Build the Product 18:32 — The Roadmap to Commercial Space Compute 21:10 — Building NVIDIA GPUs for Space 23:41 — Raising $170M for a Hard Tech Startup 26:37 — Hiring the World's Best Space Engineers 31:25 — Why AI Compute Is Moving to Space 34:49 — Advice for Hard Tech Founders
36:13

Philip Johnston (Philip Johnston) is the co-founder and CEO of Starcloud, the company building data centers in space. In November 2025, Starcloud launched an Nvidia H100 GPU into orbit and trained the first large language model in space. They've since raised $200 million, hit a billion-dollar valuation just 17 months after YC demo day and filed with the FCC to deploy 88,000 more satellites. In this episode of Lightcone Podcast, Philip walks us through their wild origin story, the engineering challenges behind the Starcloud-1, why they booked a SpaceX launch before they even knew what they were building and how data centers in space make sense both economically and politically. 00:39 — Why Build Data Centers in Space? 01:40 — The Insight That Started Starcloud 04:43 — Launching Starcloud-1 09:45 — The Engineering Behind Data Centers in Orbit 13:49 — Why 100 VCs Said No 16:12 — Book the Launch Before You Build the Product 18:32 — The Roadmap to Commercial Space Compute 21:10 — Building NVIDIA GPUs for Space 23:41 — Raising $170M for a Hard Tech Startup 26:37 — Hiring the World's Best Space Engineers 31:25 — Why AI Compute Is Moving to Space 34:49 — Advice for Hard Tech Founders

Y Combinator

229,182 views • 29 days ago

Data centers in space face one hard problem: radiation corrupts storage. Charles Hoskinson and Marta Belcher on why IPFS was built for this: if nine out of ten copies are corrupted, the one intact copy serves the file. From a conversation between Charles Hoskinson and Marta.
0:47

Data centers in space face one hard problem: radiation corrupts storage. Charles Hoskinson and Marta Belcher on why IPFS was built for this: if nine out of ten copies are corrupted, the one intact copy serves the file. From a conversation between Charles Hoskinson and Marta.

Filecoin

275,348 views • 3 months ago

This further confirms my theories surrounding Venus’ exaltion in Pisces and why the bedroom is the safest space for you to be your grossest in all forms, but this also plays into the 4th house
1:14

Sensitive content

This further confirms my theories surrounding Venus’ exaltion in Pisces and why the bedroom is the safest space for you to be your grossest in all forms, but this also plays into the 4th house

Genie

449,038 views • 2 months ago

This is the next big plan for SpaceX: AI Data Centers in Space. • To achieve even a small fraction of a Kardashev Type II civilization (harnessing the full energy of the Sun), AI compute will require orders of magnitude more energy than Earth can ever provide. • Earth only intercepts about 1–2 billionths of the Sun’s total energy output. • Massive-scale AI (e.g., a million times more energy than Earth could produce) can only be powered by capturing far more solar energy in space. • Space-based solar-powered AI satellites/compute clusters are therefore inevitable. • In space, sunlight is continuous (no night, no clouds, no atmosphere), so no batteries are needed. • Solar panels in space can be extremely lightweight and cheap (no glass, no storm-proof framing required). • Cooling in space is dramatically easier and simpler: just radiate heat directly into the cold vacuum — no water, no fans, no liquids, no massive cooling infrastructure. • Most of the mass/volume of current supercomputer racks (e.g., GB300) is cooling hardware; in space that largely disappears. • The cost-effectiveness of electricity and compute in space will soon be overwhelmingly better than on Earth. • Elon’s Prediction: within ~5 years (by ~2030), the lowest-cost way to run large-scale AI will be solar-powered satellites in space. • A terawatt/year of AI compute is essentially impossible on Earth with any realistic build-out of power plants. • Scaling both power generation and cooling on Earth at the required rate is physically and politically unfeasible.
3:55

This is the next big plan for SpaceX: AI Data Centers in Space. • To achieve even a small fraction of a Kardashev Type II civilization (harnessing the full energy of the Sun), AI compute will require orders of magnitude more energy than Earth can ever provide. • Earth only intercepts about 1–2 billionths of the Sun’s total energy output. • Massive-scale AI (e.g., a million times more energy than Earth could produce) can only be powered by capturing far more solar energy in space. • Space-based solar-powered AI satellites/compute clusters are therefore inevitable. • In space, sunlight is continuous (no night, no clouds, no atmosphere), so no batteries are needed. • Solar panels in space can be extremely lightweight and cheap (no glass, no storm-proof framing required). • Cooling in space is dramatically easier and simpler: just radiate heat directly into the cold vacuum — no water, no fans, no liquids, no massive cooling infrastructure. • Most of the mass/volume of current supercomputer racks (e.g., GB300) is cooling hardware; in space that largely disappears. • The cost-effectiveness of electricity and compute in space will soon be overwhelmingly better than on Earth. • Elon’s Prediction: within ~5 years (by ~2030), the lowest-cost way to run large-scale AI will be solar-powered satellites in space. • A terawatt/year of AI compute is essentially impossible on Earth with any realistic build-out of power plants. • Scaling both power generation and cooling on Earth at the required rate is physically and politically unfeasible.

Nic Cruz Patane

49,035 views • 8 months ago

Slowly adding to my tool stack for Hallway . This is a spline patch making a mesh that is wrapped from UV space onto the model. There's also setups to unwrap meshes on the surface back to UV space. Working in UV space enables a lot of procedural workflows. #b3d
1:57

Slowly adding to my tool stack for Hallway . This is a spline patch making a mesh that is wrapped from UV space onto the model. There's also setups to unwrap meshes on the surface back to UV space. Working in UV space enables a lot of procedural workflows. #b3d

aVersionOfReality

81,464 views • 3 years ago