Don't worry, Sam, SpaceX won't ACTUALLY launch 7,000 satellites!

[jackemled@furry.engineer]

@sundogplanets The satellites seem to be dark at some parts of their trails. Are they spinning‽ So their antennas just aren't aimed at Earth half of the time‽ I thought they couldn't be any stupider.

[screwturn@mastodon.social]

@sundogplanets
If it weren't for the various categories of pollution and risk here, I would be 100% behind Sam and others blowing investor's fortunes on silly parlor games.

Like sure, go put a data center in orbit where a service call to replace a pump will cost a million bucks, and sure, expose your computers to radiation, and please, by all means find out the hard way that space is cold, but has very low specific heat capacity. Be my guest, play stupid games.

But sadly, the pollution costs

[benhm3@saint-paul.us]

@sundogplanets

When Prof. Lawler swears, we are in trouble.
#ListenToExperts

[castanea_jo@ni.hil.ist]

RE: https://mastodon.social/@sundogplanets/116477011532548038

Cowboy Bebop was a dystopia and we don't have nearly their technological acumen (it was magic). I think often the people planning, enabling, building, launching these satellites have bad brain syndrome

[terribletowelie@mastodon.social]

@sundogplanets

[endlessmason@hachyderm.io]

@jesterchen @sundogplanets
Literally the main problem is the "bright side"

[gimulnautti@mastodon.green]

@sundogplanets Don’t worry, he won’t make you pay for it with government subsidies!

[rycochet@furs.social]

@sundogplanets When the first Starlink says went up, Elon stans swore he would use his wealth to fund space telescopes so ground based astronomy wouldn't even be necessary, astronomers would have free access to science funded by his philanthropic largesse... Instead massive cuts to science, attacks on all regulation, higher education, spotty kids using chat GPT to decide what science is and isn't 'woke' and NASA destined to become a SpaceX subsidiary.

I cannot wait to see all the 'dooming' over atmospheric aluminium and the ozone layer coming true just to add another layer of awful to things. Unlike CFCs, he'll probably block any action being taken and promise ozone replenishment drones at some unspecified point in the future, to be released alongside darker satellites and Full Self Driving.

[maccruiskeen@social.linux.pizza]

@Brokar @sundogplanets @wraptile If they were just going to do kinetic kill vehicles, they wouldn't need nearly that many to really screw things up. The problem of course is that whoever did it would be screwing up their own assets at the same time.

[guigsy@mstdn.social]

@Tofu_Golem @sundogplanets cooling is a problem. But not as big a deal as some make out. Scott Manley did a good video on the physics. For each square unit of solar panel, you need roughly half as much again in radiators if you want to keep silicon electronics at a reasonable temperature.

[beet_keeper@digipres.club]

@sundogplanets I absolutely believe that SpaceX should be held accountable and must deliver on their promises. As for long-exposure shots like this, is it demonstrable of a material impact on science? Or just on photography?

[wraptile@fosstodon.org]

@maccruiskeen @Brokar @sundogplanets you mean using satellites as weapons? that seems a bit unlikely but clearly Ukraine has shown how powerful low-orbit internet is as utility for weapons so I meant more of that regard. For that, you do need a lot of them for good coverage and they have limited lifespan + need a large backup overhead.

[brokar@mastodon.social]

@maccruiskeen @sundogplanets @wraptile

I wouldn't want just kinetic stuff because the chance of the satellites breaking up and creating more debris would be too great. I'd rather go for "safe disposal" Throw a net over them and pull them down. Like you catch drones.

[guigsy@mstdn.social]

@jackemled @sundogplanets I'm not sure. I think the brightness is when their solar panels are in sunlight when the ground below is in darkness. And they orbit pretty low. So I think the trails are just because it was after dusk and/or before dawn? But sure.

[jackemled@furry.engineer]

@guigsy @sundogplanets That's how they reflect light like that, but I don't think it shouldn't be changing so quickly unless they're rotating incorrectly.

[wraptile@fosstodon.org]

@Brokar @maccruiskeen @sundogplanets I think they are high enough to burn down on re-entry so don't let your dreams be dreams

[guigsy@mstdn.social]

@jackemled @sundogplanets maybe it's a composite of lots of photos and there's a small gap between? They have to be very stable to work.

[sundogplanets@mastodon.social]

Some questions that keep coming up:
There are gaps in the lines because this is a bunch of shorter exposures over the course of 10 minutes added together

Kessler Syndrome is extremely bad for everybody, don't hope for it (though on my grumpier days I can definitely understand that perspective)

The many parallel lines come from the orbits that have been chosen by megaconstellation operators, mostly Starlink. You can see that somewhat in various satellite visualizers like https://satellitetracker3d.com/

[nini@oldbytes.space]

@sundogplanets And to think he's only one of these fools destroying the night sky.

Nobody wants to be Cassandra for a good few reasons, dealing with the aftermath being one.

[fl0und3r@defcon.social]

@sundogplanets Mal: "you can't take the sky from me"

Elon: "that's where you're wrong, kiddo!"