An unviable idea
Posted: Thu Jan 23, 2025 8:01 am
Science journalist and editor-in-chief of the publication "Pro Kosmos" Alexander Baulin reminded that any equipment, especially test equipment, can fail in space. "That is why backup systems are almost always provided in any apparatus. This is what helped the engineers with the RUVDS project - yes, the card did not respond, but they found a way out of the situation. That is how space works - by trial and error, trying to find a way out of difficult situations," said Alexander Baulin.
Independent expert on IT hong kong whatsapp resource and telecom markets Vadim Plesskiy believes that the prospects for placing data centers in space are very vague. "The problem with using data centers or server equipment in space, when placing client equipment on Earth, is delays in signal transmission. Moreover, the farther a satellite or spacecraft is located from the Earth's surface, the greater the delays. It is not for nothing that companies strive to place servers in data centers as close to clients as possible - this reduces the response time of deployed systems. And when moving to speeds of 10 Gbit or more, placing a server in orbit looks utopian. The main way to connect data centers to each other is optical communication channels, which also use optical compression - DWDM, multiplexing with division by wavelength," said Vadim Plesskiy.
The expert noted that placing a data center in orbit would only seem logical for supporting space expeditions and missions to the Moon and other planets - in this case, the time it takes for a signal to travel from an expedition spacecraft to such a high-orbit data center will be less than to a ground server.
Corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Cosmonautics named after K.E. Tsiolkovsky Andrei Ionin called the idea of placing a data center in space crazy. "From an economic point of view, this does not make sense, since any electronic equipment, including data storage and processing systems, in space are exposed to cosmic radiation, which directly leads to the failure of complex devices. As a scientific experiment and a way to catch hype, and then investors - yes. But whether it is necessary to pollute near-Earth space for this is a rhetorical question," said Andrei Ionin.
Independent expert on IT hong kong whatsapp resource and telecom markets Vadim Plesskiy believes that the prospects for placing data centers in space are very vague. "The problem with using data centers or server equipment in space, when placing client equipment on Earth, is delays in signal transmission. Moreover, the farther a satellite or spacecraft is located from the Earth's surface, the greater the delays. It is not for nothing that companies strive to place servers in data centers as close to clients as possible - this reduces the response time of deployed systems. And when moving to speeds of 10 Gbit or more, placing a server in orbit looks utopian. The main way to connect data centers to each other is optical communication channels, which also use optical compression - DWDM, multiplexing with division by wavelength," said Vadim Plesskiy.
The expert noted that placing a data center in orbit would only seem logical for supporting space expeditions and missions to the Moon and other planets - in this case, the time it takes for a signal to travel from an expedition spacecraft to such a high-orbit data center will be less than to a ground server.
Corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Cosmonautics named after K.E. Tsiolkovsky Andrei Ionin called the idea of placing a data center in space crazy. "From an economic point of view, this does not make sense, since any electronic equipment, including data storage and processing systems, in space are exposed to cosmic radiation, which directly leads to the failure of complex devices. As a scientific experiment and a way to catch hype, and then investors - yes. But whether it is necessary to pollute near-Earth space for this is a rhetorical question," said Andrei Ionin.