Space!

Yes, there are serious logistical obstacles to overcome, concerns about space junk are real, and the cost is likely pretty crazy, but nevertheless, the idea of data centers in space is pretty darn cool. I applaud Google for the audacity of the idea as a solution to a number of problems earthbound data centers present.

Back when I was at AWS, a few times a year they ran an internal campaign based on the Think Big leadership principle. People could submit ideas to an internal tool and a handful would be selected to be pitched to senior leaders. While I had one of mine get to that stage (a fun experience), one that didn’t (but I think should have) was a suggestion to build an AWS region on the moon.

My thinking was simple: when humanity finally gets a lunar colony established, there will likely be a need for easily accessible, low latency compute. And the economic advantages to the “first mover” would be significant. I never got any feedback on the submission, but I’d be willing to wager there’s a secret team somewhere in Seattle or HQ2 working on the notion, especially given the increasing requirements of AI and the fascination folks like Jeff Bezos have with space (to be clear, I’m speculating; I have absolutely no knowledge of this either way).

It’s also nice to see that the idea wasn’t completely crazy if Google is considering an orbital data center, which seems just as hard (if not harder?)

Anyhow, fun things to think about. Also, if the question is “what is your dream job?” the correct answer is “astronaut.” Always.

And finally, IFKYK: