My latest column over at Data Center Knowledge is a timely riff on the potential for space-based datacenters off the back of the jaw-dropping SpaceX Heavy Falcon launch this week.
The commercialization of space is nothing new, nor obviously is the use of satellites for telephony, internet connectivity, navigation, or broadcasting. However, the idea of a network of data centers orbiting the Earth – powered by the Sun and cooled by the icy vacuum – still seemed more science fiction that fact until very recently.
Elon Musk is not a man who seems overly concerned with orthodox thinking. This week, his company SpaceX fired yet another rocket – specifically Falcon Heavy, the most powerful rocket in operation today – right through the space exploration rulebook. To emphasize his point, the payload was a cherry-red Tesla roadster that is now headed down a trajectory that will (unlike originally planned) take it beyond the orbit distance of Mars.
There are already a few different space-based data and networking start-ups out there worth checking out.
For the full article check out my Critical Thinking column over at Data Center Knowledge.
EARTHED-TECH 