[Starlink] DataCenters in Space (was Re: fiber IXPs in space)

[Michael Richardson <mcr@sandelman.ca>]

I saw this reported in BIS-Spaceflight.
(I'm usually a few months behind in reading it)
I like the "first objective"!

https://www.thalesgroup.com/en/worldwide/space/press-release/ascend-thales-alenia-space-lead-european-feasibility-study-data

Cannes, November 14, 2022 – Thales Alenia Space, the joint company between
Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%), has been chosen by the European Commission
to lead the ASCEND (Advanced Space Cloud for European Net zero emission and
Data sovereignty) feasibility study for data centers in orbit, as part of
Europe’s vast Horizon Europe research program.

Digital technology’s expanding environmental footprint is becoming a major
challenge: the burgeoning need for digitalization means that data centers in
Europe and around the world are growing at an exponential pace, which in turn
has a critical energy and environmental impact.

The first objective of this study will be to assess if the carbon emissions
from the production and launch of these space infrastructures will be
significantly lower than the emissions generated by ground-based data
centers, therefore contributing to the achievement of global carbon
neutrality. The second objective will be to prove that it is possible to
develop the required launch solution and to ensure the deployment and
operability of these spaceborne data centers using robotic assistance
technologies currently being developed in Europe, such as the EROSS IOD
demonstrator.

This project is expected to demonstrate to which extent space-based data
centers would limit the energy and environmental impact of their ground
counterparts, thus allowing major investments within the scope of Europe’s
Green Deal, possibly justifying the development of a more climate-friendly,
reusable heavy launch vehicle. Europe could thus regain its leadership in
space transport and space logistics, as well as the assembly and operations
of large infrastructures in orbit.