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Google’s Project Suncatcher to put ML infrastructure in space

233 points · 553 comments · xnx

sanj · 1790282348 · focus · HN ↗
Does anyone understand the math behind this bit?
> In the right orbit, a solar panel can be up to 8 times more productive than on earth....
1. exe34 · 1790282445 · focus · HN ↗
  Presumably they get exactly the same amount of sunlight 100% of the time instead of a few hours peak on earth? I'd say 8x is in the right order of magnitude.
  1. Andrex · 1790284072 · focus · HN ↗
    My layman expectation would have been much higher. It's got no atmosphere refracting anything and it's closer to the source of energy.
    exe34 · 1790284843 · focus · HN ↗
    LEO isn't much closer to the sun, and the atmosphere probably doesn't absorb a huge amount at the wavelengths they work.
    echoangle · 1790291899 · focus · HN ↗
    The distance from earth to the sun is 150 million kilometers and your orbit is probably only a few hundred kilometers up (and realistically it’s sun-synchronous and perpendicular to the earth-sun axis), so the distance change doesn’t really matter.

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