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myrmepropagandist@futurebird@sauropods.win (2026-07-23 10:23:47)
... so ... I'm kind of scared to ask. But.
There is this idea of "data centers in space" and everyone is arguing about "can it be done?" but... can someone please tell me WHY you'd want to do this?
In my sci-fi story there is a data center in space and it is up there because it's illegal and doing very bad things. But... that's not it, is it?
Is it??
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7666@7666@comp.lain.la (2026-07-23 11:07:48)
@futurebird current completely valid conspiracy theory is that the phased arrays being used on the radios on starlink satellites could be repurposed into synthetic aperture radars (yeah, you don't think it was just for internet, do you?) which would then be preprocessed by direct laser links to processing nodes (the so called datacenters in space) from the satellites, and then actionable intelligence beamed down to the surface. the addressable military market for 100% geospatial imaging 24/7 processed by AI would be absolutely insane.
this image attached was taken with no camera lens whatsoever by using a real synthetic aperture radar, which is a phased radar array technology. phased radar is not new, being used for the past 50+ years, but the processing capability to do new things with it beyond just "did someone fire a missile at me" is what's now in reach.
and what do you know? phased array systems exist on starlink already! notice any similarities between image 2 and 3, maybe?
i'm not insane, YOU'RE insane.
---Attachments---
image: https://comp.lain.la/media/e4/c7/e1/e4c7e1b3752351198f156735d5ce2c100aaf0f21ba551c6cb4a20ef1951a7d30.webp
image: https://comp.lain.la/media/45/1e/61/451e61a55222f18d72bd5272755f61db2b79223ee9b6ae06b6056f5fa017900c.webp
image: https://comp.lain.la/media/0e/4d/4d/0e4d4db881abb60f2c75588c7d1efd37932b6060bf4cbed822528f4265f9914f.webp
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Blurry Moon@sun@shitposter.world (2026-07-23 11:18:44)
@7666 @futurebird the science checks out but would it work at the height of the starlink satellites? genuinely curious