tech
SpaceX’s orbital data centers would create a new category of e-waste
The yeetcycling math resembles asteroid mining in reverse.
TL;DR
- Elon Musk's plan for a million-strong AI data center satellite constellation would export considerable amounts of valuable materials into space.
- Approximately 200,000 satellites would be decommissioned annually, with some burning up in the atmosphere and others moved to distant disposal orbits, effectively removing them from material life cycles.
- Estimates suggest that this operation could annually export tons of copper, kilograms of gold, tons of silver, and significant amounts of palladium and thallium.
- The quantity of materials lost annually could be equivalent to the contents of moderately sized asteroids.
- SpaceX has suggested lunar-based manufacturing for future satellites, using lunar raw materials to reduce the mass launched from Earth.