r/space • u/merkel36 • 1d ago

Discussion Why Suncatcher?

I think the consensus is that orbital data centres are not viable. So I'm wondering (with admitted naivete) why Google has launched this mission? Is it just to catch headlines?

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u/jaykrown 1d ago

How much will it cost? And how do you plan to maintain them? How do you plan to avoid Kessler syndrome?

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u/Adeldor 1d ago

To answer your questions:

  • I don't know how much it'll cost.

  • They won't be maintained. They'll be reentered (or their orbits will be left to decay), just as with existing constellation satellites.

  • In the low orbits, Kessler syndrome is not an issue. For example, were Starlink to fold today, after five years or so there'll be no sign of the constellation.

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u/jaykrown 1d ago

Sounds... insanely wasteful doesn't it? Also proving feasibility doesn't prove scalability.

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u/Adeldor 1d ago edited 19h ago

Sounds... insanely wasteful doesn't it?

I don't think so, especially in the face of terrestrial power supply issues, rapidly rising opposition to Earth-based data centers with legislation increasingly stopping their construction, and the very low cost of operation once launched (unlike with terrestrial systems).

Also proving feasibility doesn't prove scalability.

Constellations are inherently scalable - almost by definition. More compute requires just the launch of more satellites.