February 11, 20224 yr I wonder if Elon has these insured? Or were they still under warranty? https://gizmodo.com/spectacular-video-shows-starlink-satellite-disintegrati-1848514095 Noel The tires are worn. The shocks are shot. The steering is wobbly. But the engine still runs fine.
February 11, 20224 yr Yep, heard about this yesterday. And I admit, its mechanism I hadn't heard of. Namely solar storms thickening the upper atmosphere and creating more drag, hence the orbits decay.
February 11, 20224 yr I'm not a fan of those things I see them as an Elon Musk Muscle Flex without any real purpose Matthew Kane I'm Dyslexic, what's an error to you is not to me
February 12, 20224 yr The purpose is internet connection for the disadvantaged. 5800X3D, RTX4070, 600 Watt, one or two 1440p 32" screens, 64 GB RAM, 4 TB PCle 3 NVMe, Warthog throttle, VKB NXT EVO stick, Honeycomb Alpha yoke, CH quad, 3 Logitech panels, 2 StreamDecks, Desktop Aviator Trim Panel. Crystal Light VR.
February 12, 20224 yr 8 hours ago, Matthew Kane said: I'm not a fan of those things I see them as an Elon Musk Muscle Flex without any real purpose I don't think it's hard to see how Starlink is useful. Tonga is a good example where they would be a good alternative to other communications options. https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/elon-musk-starlink-helping-restore-tongas-internet/ There are plenty of people in rural an remote areas that have poor internet access, at best, that would also benefit from it. This includes large parts of Canada outside major cities and towns. Of course, this doesn't mean issues with astronomy should be ignored, but they have been working to mitigate the problems.
February 12, 20224 yr 9 hours ago, Matthew Kane said: I'm not a fan of those things I see them as an Elon Musk Muscle Flex without any real purpose I would tend to agree. It seems to me more like a very expensive tech demo than something practical or profitable, at least with current technology.
February 12, 20224 yr 1 hour ago, steve310002 said: I would tend to agree. It seems to me more like a very expensive tech demo than something practical or profitable, at least with current technology. 150,000 subscribers and growing, so no not a tech demo. A multitude of satalites being launched on a regular schedule. And yes it will be very profitable, the funds from which fund Starship. $30 billion per year estimated once all satalites are in orbit. Edited February 12, 20224 yr by martin-w
February 12, 20224 yr Author 9 hours ago, goates said: There are plenty of people in rural an remote areas that have poor internet access, at best, that would also benefit from it. This includes large parts of Canada outside major cities and towns. Of course, this doesn't mean issues with astronomy should be ignored, but they have been working to mitigate the problems. So, when they tumble out of orbit like that does it mean thousands of people are left without internet coverage or a billion television channels? And how long do they have to wait before service is restored. Can an emergency 'go to the head of the line' launch be scheduled? How many of them having lost service for months are going to say forget it? Noel The tires are worn. The shocks are shot. The steering is wobbly. But the engine still runs fine.
February 12, 20224 yr Commercial Member There's a cluster of them. Because they are so low in orbit each of them only passes overhead for a few minutes at a time. Luke Kolin I make simFDR, the most advanced flight data recorder for FSX, Prepar3D and X-Plane.
February 12, 20224 yr Author 32 minutes ago, Luke said: There's a cluster of them. Because they are so low in orbit each of them only passes overhead for a few minutes at a time. So losing 40 of them is no big deal? The only satellites I'm familiar with are the GOES weather satellites. They are in a geosynchronous orbit so are in the same place all the time. And the DMSP Department of Defense satellites which are in polar orbits. We had a laptop program that showed us when a DMSP satellite was within range and we could not only get detailed cloud cover from it but also see vehicles on the ground in pretty good detail. On the battlefield we could have used it to see enemy positions. Noel The tires are worn. The shocks are shot. The steering is wobbly. But the engine still runs fine.
February 12, 20224 yr 1 hour ago, birdguy said: So, when they tumble out of orbit like that does it mean thousands of people are left without internet coverage or a billion television channels? And how long do they have to wait before service is restored. Can an emergency 'go to the head of the line' launch be scheduled? How many of them having lost service for months are going to say forget it? Noel Starlink is planning on a constellation of 12,000 low Earth orbit satellites (orbits of around 500km in altitude), which is different than the much higher orbits traditional communications and weather satellites use (~35,400 km altitude). Each Starlink satellite only covers a small area and isn't stationary, hence the need for more satellites. Losing 40 isn't great, but is not going to be fatal and probably not really noticeable to existing customers. It my slow down the addition of new customers a bit or expansion to more areas, though. Depending on how many they have built and ready to go, I'm sure SpaceX could replace those ones about as fast they can get approval for another launch. Here's a good description of the differences between Starlink and traditional satellite based internet. https://www.makeuseof.com/starlink-vs-viasat-vs-hughsnet-satellite-internet-compared/
February 12, 20224 yr Author How long will it be before Earth is encompassed in a Dyson swarm? The most realistic and feasible variant of the Dyson sphere is called the Dyson swarm. Such an installation is a constellation of man-made satellites in orbit around a star. The basic dynamics of this orbital arrangement are similar to how the Earth and other planets revolve around the Sun, but at a much closer distance and with many more elements, conjuring up the image of a swarm of honey bees defending their hive. Noel The tires are worn. The shocks are shot. The steering is wobbly. But the engine still runs fine.
February 12, 20224 yr 26 minutes ago, birdguy said: How long will it be before Earth is encompassed in a Dyson swarm? The most realistic and feasible variant of the Dyson sphere is called the Dyson swarm. Such an installation is a constellation of man-made satellites in orbit around a star. The basic dynamics of this orbital arrangement are similar to how the Earth and other planets revolve around the Sun, but at a much closer distance and with many more elements, conjuring up the image of a swarm of honey bees defending their hive. Noel We're a long ways off from building a Dyson Swarm. 12,000 relatively small satellites around Earth is a far cry from the many millions that would be needed for a Dyson Swarm. Not to mention the amount of resources that would be needed (think consuming the entire planet of Mercury).
February 12, 20224 yr Author What about all the other satellites, active and dead, plus all the space junk up there. Noel The tires are worn. The shocks are shot. The steering is wobbly. But the engine still runs fine.
February 13, 20224 yr 13 hours ago, martin-w said: 150,000 subscribers and growing, so no not a tech demo. A multitude of satalites being launched on a regular schedule. And yes it will be very profitable, the funds from which fund Starship. $30 billion per year estimated once all satalites are in orbit. But you are talking about 150,000 subscribers out of 7.9 billion people on this planet, I wouldn't call that a success story in fact far from it Matthew Kane I'm Dyslexic, what's an error to you is not to me
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