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Today's Topics:
1. Re: Assembling supercomputers in space (Tom Worthington)
2. Re: Assembling supercomputers in space (David)
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Message: 1
Date: Sat, 24 May 2025 09:16:59 +1000
From: Tom Worthington <[email protected]>
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [LINK] Assembling supercomputers in space
Message-ID: <[email protected]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"; Format="flowed"
On 5/22/25 00:26, Stephen Loosley wrote:
> China begins assembling its supercomputer in space ... by Wes Davis
> May 19, 2025, 2:34 AM https://www.theverge.com/news/669157/china-
> begins-assembling-its-supercomputer-in-space ... satellite
> transmissions are slow, and that ?less than 10 per cent? of
> satellite data makes it to Earth ...
Terrestrial data centers can use fiber optic cables which are very low
noise.
> And Jonathan McDowell ... ?Orbital data centres can use solar
> power and radiate their heat to space, reducing the energy needs and
> carbon footprint.? ...
Has someone done the sums? I doubt the energy used to launch the
satellite would be saved during the time in orbit.
--
Tom Worthington http://www.tomw.net.au
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Message: 2
Date: Sat, 24 May 2025 11:40:11 +1000
From: David <[email protected]>
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [LINK] Assembling supercomputers in space
Message-ID: <9827090.V6nBDHxoPA@ulysses>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
On Friday, 23 May 2025 08:31:23 AEST Tom Worthington wrote:
> An anti-ballistic missile system. Some Australian warships are already
> capable of local missile defence, using a US system. The data from the radars
> on Australian and allied warships can be combined, and the missiles on all
> the ships coordinated.
>
> When switched to "Automatic", the computers decide how many missiles to
> launch, when. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aegis_Ballistic_Missile_Defense_Sy
All very impressive technology, I'm sure. But there are overriding national
questions concerning financial cost and the degree of _effective_ Australian
autonomy in a developing confrontation. I strongly suspect there's an inverse
relationship between the scale and complexity of the technology and the degree
of autonomy.
Do we want a US President (currently Donald Trump) making unilateral decisions
regarding deployment of Australian defence assets which may result in a
catastrophic response to Australia? The stakes are way too high IMO,
especially with the destructive potential and crippling cost of technology in
2025.
Off the top of my head, this sort of scenario has played out before during both
WW I and WW II. See for example
https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/curtin-brings-home-troops
during WW II:
> British Prime Minister Winston Churchill insisted the 7th Division should be
> deployed to Burma while the Australian Prime Minister John Curtin argued they
> should return immediately to defend Australia.
> A diplomatic feud ensued, but Curtin brought the troops home, adding momentum
> to Australia?s realignment of its foreign policy towards the United States
> rather than its traditional partner Great Britain.
_David Lochrin_
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