TechTakes

Cooling in space is an absolute arse. Space is an excellent insulator for heat. That’s why a thermos works. In space, thermal management is job number one. All you can use is radiators. Getting rid of your 200 kilowatts will need about 500 square metres.

To drive home how easy this is to work out, the Codex for the Mass Effect series^1^ explicitly points out that radiation is the only way to cool off in space, and goes into detail on how in-universe spaceships (civilian and military) deal with heat buildup.

BioWare did their homework on this shit for a series of sci-fi RPGs which started in the early days of the Xbox 360 and the PS3. That the startup bros, tech co's and billionaire CEOs pushing this have failed or refused to recognise this shit is goddamn negligence.

So space is a bit hard. A lot of the sci-fi guys suggest oceans! We’ll put the data centres underwater and cooling will be great!

The only way I see that idea working is if humanity works out underwater cities (e.g. Rapture from the original Bioshock) first. That'd make the issue of maintenance easier to deal with, even if getting new parts from the surface would remain a PITA.

^1^ Specifically "Starships: Heat Management", under Ships and Vehicles, in the Secondary Codex"