Comment by naishoya

Cooling is not the crux of the real problem, it's the fact that we have no way to replace single failed units in a running space-based data center without another launch - and if youre stressing your total launch cadence with 'new' datacenters, at what % do you repair or replace the whole slab.

The launch tempo, following the invention of a functioning approach to in-space single node replacement for even a modest portion of the planned workload capacity is something that strains credulity, even at the normal earth-level maintenance rate.

Addressing the increased failure rates due to the hard rads and geomagnetic effects, while demanding that orbital systems remain above nm% load - that's n% of the hardware still operating - at 100% power and thermal, or 100% of hardware at m% of power and thermal, or the intersection of those two slopes at any given time - in order to meet shareholders profit expectations pushes that launch cadence and cost - to maintain the baseline of workload... and well, the math of that for even a minimal % of earthbound current deployed demand is just staggeringly many launches per year.

Maybe i'm missing something, but bigger vehicles for putting larger payloads doesnt make it better, it makes it worse.