Elon Musk did what he does best on X: fresh speculations via post on November 4, saying: “Data centers in space look pretty appealing right now.”
Musk was talking about data centers, but the idea can be used in crypto too: could Bitcoin mining rigs work in orbit, powered only by the Sun? Technically, they should, why not? Economically, however, it's getting a bit more complicated.
Solar-Powered Bitcoin Mining
Space has one big advantage: plenty of solar energy. Unlike mining farms on Earth, orbital mining stations could use large solar ray to make their own electricity without any power grid. Satellites today could get constant powering from sunlight, leading to a lower battery consumption.
In theory, Bitcoin ASIC miners could then run around the clock with very low or non-existent ongoing electricity costs. The problem is that solar panels, batteries, power electronics and would all have to be launched into orbit–that's the part where problems arise.
Space might look like the perfect place to cool mining equipment, since the cosmic background is extremely cold. Unfortunately, it's not so simple and the vacuum in space actually makes cooling harder than on earth.
Here, mining rigs get rid of heat with fans, air conditioning or liquid cooling, in orbit, there's no air at all that will be able to push the air away. So the only option out there seems to be the liquid cooling, large radiator panels which should be able to release heat as infrared radiation.
Practical estimates
According to Boston Consulting Group (BCG), a 100-kilowatt orbital data center could need around a whopping 400 square meters of radiators. But apart from technical challenges, we should always keep in mind the profitability. Getting equipment to space in the first place is what makes the whole idea questionable.
According to BCG, launching to orbit currently costs around $1,500 per kilogram. That means, a one-ton mining setup would cost around $1.5 million just to launch, excluding hardware, cooling, solar arrays and maintenance that will cost just as much if not more.
You also can't ignore space radiation, equipment failures and limited chances for repairs that add even more costs at the top of it. The only thing that can somehow make math look better is more efficient ASIC chips and ways of delivering goods to space at the fraction of today's costs.
Thankfully, Bitcoin miners need little to no bandwidth, so the connection issue is somewhat solved on its own.
Physically, mining Bitcoin in space is possible: is it justifiable financially though? Not really. Reusable rockets, lightweight cooling and other things might make it more financially viable, but as of today, we should be sticking with good old mining rigs in huge hangars on Earth.
