this post was submitted on 21 Nov 2025
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The only real way to do heat transfer in space is through infrared. But that is not very efficient, so most compute in space is managed to reduce heat as much as possible. Data centers, or even just a few 2-4u servers with GPUs produce significantly more heat.
What if the craft is in the sun? Then, you not only have to dump the heat from the onboard servers, but also the sun. These changes are rapid, and not easily managed. Plus, the cold side would still need something to radiate into. Heat does not transfer the same way in a vacuum, even closed loop systems on the ground need air to dump heat into. And these companies don't even want to use that because it's not efficient, so they waste our water instead.
Make it make sense.