Thread

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. gwbas1c · 1790282646 · focus · HN ↗
  Because the panel is positioned such that it's is always exposed to the sun.
  1: There is no night or day.
  2: There are no seasons.
  3: There is no weather.
  Basically, the primary motivating factor of putting AI in space is abundant solar energy. Otherwise, AI in space makes little to no economic sense.
  1. pornel · 1790292654 · focus · HN ↗
    But solar panels are dirt cheap. Just slap 8x more of them on earth.
    It's nuts that it's supposed to be easier to send them to space than to truck them to a desert.
    gwbas1c · 1790296040 · focus · HN ↗
    I didn't mention the second compelling reason for data centers in space... All that requires land!
    (But to be quite frank, I don't think data center is in space are going to be practical.)

Unofficial Hacker News client; not affiliated with Y Combinator.