Don't worry, Sam, SpaceX won't ACTUALLY launch 7,000 satellites!
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@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.
@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. -
@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.
@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.
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@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.
@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.
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@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.@Brokar @maccruiskeen @sundogplanets I think they are high enough to burn down on re-entry so don't let your dreams be dreams
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@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.
@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.
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Don't worry, Sam, SpaceX won't ACTUALLY launch 7,000 satellites! (There are currently 10,296 Starlink sats in orbit)
Don't worry, SpaceX said they'd get their satellites below magnitude 7! (They have not https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/link_gateway/2025MNRAS.544L..15M/PUB_PDF)
Don't worry, they won't actually start Kessler Syndrome! https://outerspaceinstitute.ca/crashclock/
Don't worry, they won't actually launch a million AI data centres into orbit!! https://theconversation.com/a-new-space-race-could-turn-our-atmosphere-into-a-crematorium-for-satellites-276366
This is the fucking worst I-told-you-so https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
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 togetherKessler 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/
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Don't worry, Sam, SpaceX won't ACTUALLY launch 7,000 satellites! (There are currently 10,296 Starlink sats in orbit)
Don't worry, SpaceX said they'd get their satellites below magnitude 7! (They have not https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/link_gateway/2025MNRAS.544L..15M/PUB_PDF)
Don't worry, they won't actually start Kessler Syndrome! https://outerspaceinstitute.ca/crashclock/
Don't worry, they won't actually launch a million AI data centres into orbit!! https://theconversation.com/a-new-space-race-could-turn-our-atmosphere-into-a-crematorium-for-satellites-276366
This is the fucking worst I-told-you-so https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
@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.
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Don't worry, Sam, SpaceX won't ACTUALLY launch 7,000 satellites! (There are currently 10,296 Starlink sats in orbit)
Don't worry, SpaceX said they'd get their satellites below magnitude 7! (They have not https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/link_gateway/2025MNRAS.544L..15M/PUB_PDF)
Don't worry, they won't actually start Kessler Syndrome! https://outerspaceinstitute.ca/crashclock/
Don't worry, they won't actually launch a million AI data centres into orbit!! https://theconversation.com/a-new-space-race-could-turn-our-atmosphere-into-a-crematorium-for-satellites-276366
This is the fucking worst I-told-you-so https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
@sundogplanets Mal: "you can't take the sky from me"
Elon: "that's where you're wrong, kiddo!"
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@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.
@guigsy @sundogplanets Why not do a long exposure instead? Aren't composite photos usually done to look at a specific object & using a special tripod to automatically move the camera & telescope to always point at it?
Spinning the satellites would be a good way to make sure solar panels are regularly exposed to light if they're just mounted to the outside & not retractable, but then you can't aim the antenna. That's only good for those microsatellites people host BBSs on & communicate with using special equipment at very specific times.
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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 togetherKessler 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/
@sundogplanets The man who stole the sky
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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 togetherKessler 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/
@sundogplanets
It will take hard proof for them to understand.And if the choice is between Kessler Syndrome and North Sahara being the new name for Lapland, I think I prefer Kessler Syndrome.
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Well, you can also spy with the satellites. Can't do that with a cell tower (not that effective) and destroying one satellite does nothing to the system.
I really wish China would launch their own 10.000 satellites and program them on a collision course with the Starlink ones, forcing all of them to enter the atmosphere and burn out.
I would personally thank Xi for making astronomy possible again
All that shit burning in our atmosphere (over time), is another big problem.
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Don't worry, Sam, SpaceX won't ACTUALLY launch 7,000 satellites! (There are currently 10,296 Starlink sats in orbit)
Don't worry, SpaceX said they'd get their satellites below magnitude 7! (They have not https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/link_gateway/2025MNRAS.544L..15M/PUB_PDF)
Don't worry, they won't actually start Kessler Syndrome! https://outerspaceinstitute.ca/crashclock/
Don't worry, they won't actually launch a million AI data centres into orbit!! https://theconversation.com/a-new-space-race-could-turn-our-atmosphere-into-a-crematorium-for-satellites-276366
This is the fucking worst I-told-you-so https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
@sundogplanets I have a suspicion in the back of my head that a good portion of those million satellites will have bright LEDs installed on them for making advertising.
Advertising is much more profitable than AI, and it is easier to ask forgiveness than seek permission, especially since there is no one actually policing space.
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@sundogplanets I have a suspicion in the back of my head that a good portion of those million satellites will have bright LEDs installed on them for making advertising.
Advertising is much more profitable than AI, and it is easier to ask forgiveness than seek permission, especially since there is no one actually policing space.
@MatthewChat Amazingly, the US actually already has a policy against space advertising. But other countries don't.
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Don't worry, Sam, SpaceX won't ACTUALLY launch 7,000 satellites! (There are currently 10,296 Starlink sats in orbit)
Don't worry, SpaceX said they'd get their satellites below magnitude 7! (They have not https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/link_gateway/2025MNRAS.544L..15M/PUB_PDF)
Don't worry, they won't actually start Kessler Syndrome! https://outerspaceinstitute.ca/crashclock/
Don't worry, they won't actually launch a million AI data centres into orbit!! https://theconversation.com/a-new-space-race-could-turn-our-atmosphere-into-a-crematorium-for-satellites-276366
This is the fucking worst I-told-you-so https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
god that's fucking sad
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@MatthewChat Amazingly, the US actually already has a policy against space advertising. But other countries don't.
@sundogplanets when I was a child in the USA, there were laws against doctors, lawyers, and pharmaceutical companies advertising. A few well placed millions of dollars changed that.
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Don't worry, Sam, SpaceX won't ACTUALLY launch 7,000 satellites! (There are currently 10,296 Starlink sats in orbit)
Don't worry, SpaceX said they'd get their satellites below magnitude 7! (They have not https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/link_gateway/2025MNRAS.544L..15M/PUB_PDF)
Don't worry, they won't actually start Kessler Syndrome! https://outerspaceinstitute.ca/crashclock/
Don't worry, they won't actually launch a million AI data centres into orbit!! https://theconversation.com/a-new-space-race-could-turn-our-atmosphere-into-a-crematorium-for-satellites-276366
This is the fucking worst I-told-you-so https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
@sundogplanets
This image should be on the front page of major news outlets. So many folks don't know about this problem! -
@guigsy @sundogplanets Why not do a long exposure instead? Aren't composite photos usually done to look at a specific object & using a special tripod to automatically move the camera & telescope to always point at it?
Spinning the satellites would be a good way to make sure solar panels are regularly exposed to light if they're just mounted to the outside & not retractable, but then you can't aim the antenna. That's only good for those microsatellites people host BBSs on & communicate with using special equipment at very specific times.
@jackemled @sundogplanets Starlinks have propulsion. I'm pretty confident they are fully stabilised. They are actively able to avoid colliding (provided there aren't multiple fails). And if they were spinning, they'd need even bigger solar. And they operate at many kilowatts continuously. They aren't microsatellite scale.
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@jackemled @sundogplanets Starlinks have propulsion. I'm pretty confident they are fully stabilised. They are actively able to avoid colliding (provided there aren't multiple fails). And if they were spinning, they'd need even bigger solar. And they operate at many kilowatts continuously. They aren't microsatellite scale.
@guigsy @sundogplanets Yeah exactly, they're huge. I can't think of anything else that explains the gaps & makes sense though.
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Don't worry, Sam, SpaceX won't ACTUALLY launch 7,000 satellites! (There are currently 10,296 Starlink sats in orbit)
Don't worry, SpaceX said they'd get their satellites below magnitude 7! (They have not https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/link_gateway/2025MNRAS.544L..15M/PUB_PDF)
Don't worry, they won't actually start Kessler Syndrome! https://outerspaceinstitute.ca/crashclock/
Don't worry, they won't actually launch a million AI data centres into orbit!! https://theconversation.com/a-new-space-race-could-turn-our-atmosphere-into-a-crematorium-for-satellites-276366
This is the fucking worst I-told-you-so https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
@sundogplanets unrelated but i would love if everyone added sources like þis
