Dirty Bits in Low-Earth Orbit: The Carbon Footprint of Launching Computers
Fuente:
arXiv
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Preprint |
| Published: |
2025
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1866914335844990976 |
|---|---|
| author | Ohs, Robin Stock, Gregory F. Schmidt, Andreas Fraire, Juan A. Hermanns, Holger |
| author_facet | Ohs, Robin Stock, Gregory F. Schmidt, Andreas Fraire, Juan A. Hermanns, Holger |
| contents | Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites are increasingly proposed for communication and in-orbit computing, achieving low-latency global services. However, their sustainability remains largely unexamined. This paper investigates the carbon footprint of computing in space, focusing on lifecycle emissions from launch over orbital operation to re-entry. We present ESpaS, a lightweight tool for estimating carbon intensities across CPU usage, memory, and networking in orbital vs. terrestrial settings. Three worked examples compare (i) launch technologies (state-of-the-art rocket vs. potential next generation), (ii) operational emissions of data center workloads in orbit and on the ground and, (iii) in-orbit aggregation with raw data transmission. Results show that, even under optimistic assumptions, in-orbit systems incur significantly higher carbon costs - primarily due to embodied emissions from launch and re-entry. Our findings advocate for carbon-aware design principles and regulatory oversight in developing sustainable digital infrastructure in orbit. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2508_06250 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Dirty Bits in Low-Earth Orbit: The Carbon Footprint of Launching Computers Ohs, Robin Stock, Gregory F. Schmidt, Andreas Fraire, Juan A. Hermanns, Holger Computers and Society Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites are increasingly proposed for communication and in-orbit computing, achieving low-latency global services. However, their sustainability remains largely unexamined. This paper investigates the carbon footprint of computing in space, focusing on lifecycle emissions from launch over orbital operation to re-entry. We present ESpaS, a lightweight tool for estimating carbon intensities across CPU usage, memory, and networking in orbital vs. terrestrial settings. Three worked examples compare (i) launch technologies (state-of-the-art rocket vs. potential next generation), (ii) operational emissions of data center workloads in orbit and on the ground and, (iii) in-orbit aggregation with raw data transmission. Results show that, even under optimistic assumptions, in-orbit systems incur significantly higher carbon costs - primarily due to embodied emissions from launch and re-entry. Our findings advocate for carbon-aware design principles and regulatory oversight in developing sustainable digital infrastructure in orbit. |
| title | Dirty Bits in Low-Earth Orbit: The Carbon Footprint of Launching Computers |
| topic | Computers and Society |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.06250 |