Comment by gaigalas

Comment by gaigalas 3 days ago

11 replies

View on Hacker News

You don't need massive datacenters in space.

You literally just need to be in space, because no typical laws apply if you are there. That little detail outweights all sorts of costs.

So, yeah. There will be datacenters in space. Probably unlike any on the ground. Smaller, very likely not running typical datacenter stuff, weirder, operating on a different set of regulations.

If we're lucky, it will be like Antarctica (research focused, still disputed but not armed, probably not lots of shady stuff happening there, costly but still pays off to be there).

mjhay 3 days ago

There’s laws in space. Specifically, those of the country (or country of the subject) that launched the satellite.

Reply View 1 reply
deno 3 days ago

This makes no sense. The company will still be on the ground in some country and it has to connect to the Earth internet on the ground in some country. Unless you are talking about actual space pirate station, but in that case it better come equipped with missile defense because it will be attacked sooo fast.

Reply View 4 replies
  • gaigalas 3 days ago

    > The company will still be on the ground in some country

    But the data won't. That is literally how people launder money. They live in one country and keep their money in another with laxed laws and enforcement. Those people get away a lot.

    > it has to connect to the Earth internet

    Why? This is only true if the datacenter is directly serving people. As I mentioned previously, I don't believe space datacenters will be serving React apps or anything like that. Those will be weird, non-typical servers.

    Want some zero internet use cases?

    - Training a cyber-ops LLM without poking eyes and reduced risk of leaks.

    - Illegal data-heavy research (bio, weaponry).

    - Storing data for surveillance satellites.

    All of those can use private links, can be built by private companies under classified contracts, and you would not dare attack an NRO-launched satellite.

    Reply View 3 replies
    • deno 3 days ago

      There are wayyyy easier ways to just get some private calculations. You can spin up an encrypted memory VM or wire up an eager physical kill switch. Launching satellites would bring a lot of attention and requires skills, money, multiple people with access. But I can do the former just fine by myself.

      Reply View 1 reply
      • gaigalas 3 days ago

        > requires skills, money, multiple people with access

        I never said it's going to be easy. In fact, I compared it to setting up research stations in Antarctica. Which is costly, and definitely harder than going to the ice vending machine.

        Reply View 0 replies
james-bcn 3 days ago

>You literally just need to be in space, because no typical laws apply if you are there.

That makes no sense. Unless you are going to use the data in space (what for?), you need to import it into a country, and it is at that point the crime will have been committed. You can't, for example, circumvent GDPR laws just by sending the data into space first.

Reply View 3 replies
  • amitav1 3 days ago

    I think what the parent was saying is that unlike on Earth, there are no zoning laws or environmental regulations or NIMBYs to stall scaling.

    Reply View 0 replies
  • gaigalas 3 days ago

    I can see you lack imagination. That's good! It indeed makes no sense, you're right.

    Reply View 1 reply
    • [removed] 3 days ago
      [deleted]
      Reply View 0 replies