Re: Imagine a geodesic rotating array of orbiting servers

From	Oregonian Haruspex <bob_davis_retired@yahoo.com>
Newsgroups	comp.misc
Subject	Re: Imagine a geodesic rotating array of orbiting servers
Date	2014-03-13 14:21 -0700
Organization	A noiseless patient Spider
Message-ID	<lft7gc$1jf$1@dont-email.me> (permalink)
References	<20140312142938.9b9eaf9d.rsw@therandymon.com>

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On 2014-03-12 14:29:38 +0000, RS Wood said:

> From the "call it SkyNet and I kill you" department
> 
> What if you launched a fleet of small, thin, servers into orbit where 
> they are powered by infinite solar energy and cooled in space?  What 
> would that look like?
> 
> http://server-sky.com/
> 
> Interesting clip:
> 
> "Server Sky thinsats are ultralight aluminum foil substrates that
> convert sunlight into computation and communications. Powered by solar
> cells, propelled and steered by light pressure, networked and located
> by microwaves, and cooled by radiation into deep space. Arrays of tens
> of thousands of thinsats act as highly redundant computation and
> database servers, as well as phased array antennas to reach thousands
> of transceivers on the ground. First generation Version 5 thinsats are
> 20 centimeters across (about 8 inches) and 0.04 millimeters (40
> microns) thick, and weigh 3 grams. They can be mass produced with
> off-the-shelf semiconductor and display technologies. Thousands of
> radio chips provide intra-array, inter-array, and ground communication,
> as well as precise location information. Thinsats are launched stacked
> by the thousands in solid cylinders, shrouded and vibration isolated
> inside a traditional satellite bus."

"Server Sky is speculative. The most likely technical showstopper is 
radiation damage. The most likely practical showstopper is 
misunderstanding. Working together, we can fix the latter."

I'm not so sure if I'm going to be working together without pay!  Hah.  
The radiation seems like a difficult problem to solve with their 
current design idea.  To shield electronics from radiation in the deep 
of space, you need to shield them and aluminum is actually worse than 
nothing for this purpose.  Another issue I see is commincation with the 
ground stations.  Their site features a stereotypically hopeful 
photograph of some sari-clad women gazing at a smartphone, so my guess 
is that they are angling for some government third-world development 
grants.

Though their idea is somewhat to totally impractical, I have often 
pondered orbital computing as a possible future angle.  With the 
correct radio bands, space to ground communication can be quite 
reliable and low power can be used.  I can communicate using amateur 
radio satellites on 5w of power or even less without particularly 
sophisticated equipment.

Thread

Imagine a geodesic rotating array of orbiting servers RS Wood <rsw@therandymon.com> - 2014-03-12 14:29 +0000
  Re: Imagine a geodesic rotating array of orbiting servers Oregonian Haruspex <bob_davis_retired@yahoo.com> - 2014-03-13 14:21 -0700
    Re: Imagine a geodesic rotating array of orbiting servers Andy Burns <usenet.feb2014@adslpipe.co.uk> - 2014-03-13 22:47 +0000
      Re: Imagine a geodesic rotating array of orbiting servers Oregonian Haruspex <bob_davis_retired@yahoo.com> - 2014-03-13 15:50 -0700
        Re: Imagine a geodesic rotating array of orbiting servers Rich <rich@example.com> - 2014-03-14 01:43 +0000
        Re: Imagine a geodesic rotating array of orbiting servers greymausg <maus@mail.com> - 2014-03-14 11:55 +0000
        Re: Imagine a geodesic rotating array of orbiting servers RS Wood <rsw@therandymon.com> - 2014-03-14 19:35 +0000
          Re: Imagine a geodesic rotating array of orbiting servers Oregonian Haruspex <bob_davis_retired@yahoo.com> - 2014-03-14 13:24 -0700
            Unison RS Wood <rsw@therandymon.com> - 2014-03-14 21:52 +0000
              Re: Unison RS Wood <rsw@therandymon.com> - 2014-03-15 14:57 +0000
                Re: Unison Oregonian Haruspex <bob_davis_retired@yahoo.com> - 2014-03-16 18:16 -0700
                Re: Unison RS Wood <rsw@therandymon.com> - 2014-03-17 11:31 +0000
                Re: Unison Dag-Erling Smørgrav <des@des.no> - 2014-03-17 13:32 +0100
                Re: Unison RS Wood <rsw@therandymon.com> - 2014-03-17 13:32 +0000
                Re: Unison Tim Streater <timstreater@greenbee.net> - 2014-03-17 17:57 +0000
                Re: Unison Lewis <g.kreme@gmail.com.dontsendmecopies> - 2014-03-17 18:19 +0000
                Re: Unison Oregonian Haruspex <bob_davis_retired@yahoo.com> - 2014-03-17 20:01 +0000
                Re: Unison Tim Streater <timstreater@greenbee.net> - 2014-03-17 21:15 +0000
                Re: Unison Oregonian Haruspex <bob_davis_retired@yahoo.com> - 2014-03-17 21:29 +0000
                Re: Unison Tim Streater <timstreater@greenbee.net> - 2014-03-17 21:37 +0000
                Re: Unison Lewis <g.kreme@gmail.com.dontsendmecopies> - 2014-03-18 15:20 +0000
                Re: Unison Oregonian Haruspex <bob_davis_retired@yahoo.com> - 2014-03-18 19:14 +0000
                Re: Unison Rob Myers <rob@robmyers.org> - 2014-03-18 20:01 +0000
                Re: Unison Lewis <g.kreme@gmail.com.dontsendmecopies> - 2014-03-18 23:11 +0000
                Re: Unison Paul Sture <nospam@sture.ch> - 2014-03-19 22:18 +0100
                Re: Unison Paul Sture <nospam@sture.ch> - 2014-03-19 23:14 +0100
                Re: Unison Lewis <g.kreme@gmail.com.dontsendmecopies> - 2014-03-19 23:04 +0000

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