# If the sun can radiate heat into space, why is this a problem for data centers in space?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-the-sun-can-radiate-heat-into-space-why-is-this-a-problem-for-data-centers-in-space/1033454>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [September 28, 2026, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-the-sun-can-radiate-heat-into-space-why-is-this-a-problem-for-data-centers-in-space/1033454 "2026-09-28T18:35:11Z")\
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**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\
**Post date:** [September 28, 2026, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-the-sun-can-radiate-heat-into-space-why-is-this-a-problem-for-data-centers-in-space/1033454/1 "2026-09-28T18:35:11Z")

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The consensus I’ve heard on AI data centers in space is that cooling them is going to be next to impossible, since they’re in a vacuum. And sure, the vacuum of space isn’t really cold, it just doesn’t have any temperature whatsoever. But our sun (and every other star) radiates heat into the vacuum of space. So why can’t space-based data centers lose their excess heat by radiating into space?

I went back three months in this forum and didn’t see a recent thread on the subject, but if there’s something further back, please link.

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