From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Authentication-Results: mail.toke.dk; spf=pass smtp.mailfrom=thexlab.org; dkim=pass header.d=thexlab.org; arc=none (Message is not ARC signed); dmarc=none Received: from host.stevenmansour.com (host.stevenmansour.com [67.222.2.47]) by mail.toke.dk (Postfix) with ESMTPS id 990AED8C198 for ; Fri, 27 Feb 2026 15:26:56 +0100 (CET) DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; q=dns/txt; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=thexlab.org ; s=default; h=Content-Transfer-Encoding:Content-Type:In-Reply-To:From: References:Cc:Subject:Reply-To:MIME-Version:Date:Message-ID:Sender:To: Content-ID:Content-Description:Resent-Date:Resent-From:Resent-Sender: Resent-To:Resent-Cc:Resent-Message-ID:List-Id:List-Help:List-Unsubscribe: List-Subscribe:List-Post:List-Owner:List-Archive; bh=mh0HwHvu67sdzFz4Ol36ZgVlpdaUV9TABaKj+iX3QdE=; b=c/K3Jee+iK2lG2kyShqPZuD0SZ yg4rDHQTS+piez9++9turLw287Sxw9qxMpsXc5Dj+TlqrfaVEaHehoTwzmTeOLhkg+mpaSgzn2jBx SOln4cajSKyiUCObdB784bqb3JXSxlpWqjk+6NP+ZpgzqrQtaxgTT2dKsixsRhUGltSI=; Received: from h218.41.55.139.dynamic.ip.windstream.net ([139.55.41.218]:53836 helo=[192.168.150.168]) by host.stevenmansour.com with esmtpsa (TLS1.3) tls TLS_AES_128_GCM_SHA256 (Exim 4.99.1) (envelope-from ) id 1vvynt-0000000AROJ-2dJo for starlink@lists.bufferbloat.net; Fri, 27 Feb 2026 14:26:53 +0000 Message-ID: <3e2d9c26-f468-4380-8c88-a76679248a16@thexlab.org> Date: Fri, 27 Feb 2026 09:26:52 -0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 User-Agent: Betterbird (Linux) Cc: starlink@lists.bufferbloat.net References: <4f2228ec-042a-48ed-8946-a6c37f10ca94@rogers.com> <2o0r5r7s-0750-o2p1-7738-n4n88q9093qs@ynat.uz> <69q3s580-8560-q213-2n61-o36qns8o6q4o@ynat.uz> <22f8dfbf-c99d-4d9e-9962-e37851ee1d17@auckland.ac.nz> <53546r56-154r-o38n-1ns2-8ponps4ss1o5@ynat.uz> Content-Language: en-US From: Sascha Meinrath In-Reply-To: <53546r56-154r-o38n-1ns2-8ponps4ss1o5@ynat.uz> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-AntiAbuse: This header was added to track abuse, please include it with any abuse report X-AntiAbuse: Primary Hostname - host.stevenmansour.com X-AntiAbuse: Original Domain - lists.bufferbloat.net X-AntiAbuse: Originator/Caller UID/GID - [47 12] / [47 12] X-AntiAbuse: Sender Address Domain - thexlab.org X-Get-Message-Sender-Via: host.stevenmansour.com: authenticated_id: sascha+thexlab.org/only user confirmed/virtual account not confirmed X-Authenticated-Sender: host.stevenmansour.com: sascha@thexlab.org Message-ID-Hash: QXZ43VL5TURB6VFN2MH2N3F7CTBVXY4A X-Message-ID-Hash: QXZ43VL5TURB6VFN2MH2N3F7CTBVXY4A X-MailFrom: sascha@thexlab.org X-Mailman-Rule-Misses: dmarc-mitigation; no-senders; approved; loop; banned-address; emergency; member-moderation; nonmember-moderation; administrivia; implicit-dest; max-recipients; max-size; news-moderation; no-subject; digests; suspicious-header X-Mailman-Version: 3.3.10 Precedence: list Reply-To: sascha@thexlab.org Subject: [Starlink] Why Data Centers In Space Won't Work [Yet] (A non-canonical list). List-Id: "Starlink has bufferbloat. Bad." Archived-At: List-Archive: List-Help: List-Owner: List-Post: List-Subscribe: List-Unsubscribe: Hi everyone, Synthesizing from what we know thus far, I think it would be helpful to have a topline bullet list of the major issues detrimentally impacting the viability of data centers in space. I remain highly skeptical of the concept, given today's technological realities, and feel that there would be utility in having a quick reference of the major shortcomings that need to be overcome. Here's a starting point for some of the major limitations to data centers in space (please add, though keep bullets pithy): 1. Thermal cooling/heat dissipation 2. Radiation hardening 3. Launch costs 4. Upgrade/maintenance costs 5. Kessler syndrome/ablation cascade risks (& collision avoidance) 6. Power generation/storage 7. Latency/bandwidth 8. Risk-adjusted ROI 9. ??? . . . --Sascha -- Sascha Meinrath Director, X-Lab Palmer Chair in Telecommunications Penn State University