Oddbean new post about login | logout I just had to update my numbers for a lecture, so here's your periodic reminder: Starlink is now 55% of ALL active satellites in orbit. And given the recent news about that awful billionaire unilaterally deciding to cut of internet access to parts of the world whenever he decides to, this is extra important to share. Why did our governments effectively gift Low Earth Orbit to one awful dude? This is so bad.
@e38e83a6 it's very sad. I was sitting outside with my spouse last night to watch a Starlink train pass (her first) and I pointed out that as the train crossed paths with another satellite the odds were very high that the other sat was also a Starlink. Didn't realize the odds were that high😬
@e38e83a6 oh my 😱
@e38e83a6 one of the things I wondered, as a young aspiring aerospace engineer, was how the chicken-and-egg problem would work out in rockets like it seemed good to make bigger rockets, but would customers show up for it? It'd be a huge business risk, etc etc now the biggest launch provider (by far) and biggest launch customer (by far) are both owned by the same jerk
@e38e83a6 Starlink is incredibly disturbing on so many levels, among which, is that this important technology is controlled by someone so unstable and with objectively ill intent. And congrats on making it past my filters :)
@e38e83a6 Thanks for the stark reality that news orgs ignore. We have privatized infrastructure: from am/fm radio to cell phone towers (let the “market” decide which tech is best) to satellites and space launches (all Musk, all the time) because Rs in Congress, accelerating after Reagan, believe that “the market” can always “be better.” Chicago School economists gave them that rhetoric, which legitimizes IMPERFECT markets that should be regulated. 🤦🏼♀️ The US gave up on anti-trust.
@e38e83a6 Am I the only one who is wondering how we will continue to do space travel in the future? It already is pretty crowded out there. http://astria.tacc.utexas.edu/AstriaGraph/
@e38e83a6 Nope, the FCC did license SpaceX e.g. "to construct, deploy, and operate a constellation of 29,988 non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) satellites, to be known as its “second-generation” Starlink constellation (Gen2 Starlink), using Ku-, Ka-, and E-band frequencies to provide fixed-satellite service (FSS)." https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-22-91A1.pdf Is the question rhetorical?
WOW lots of comments already - I can't answer all of these individually, sorry. It's actually not super easy to find satellite numbers - surprise! Private companies aren't real excited about sharing info. Best info for civilians is from @80868be6's excellent website https://planet4589.org/space/con/conlist.html and T.S. Kelso's database https://celestrak.org/satcat/search.php. Both of these are run as side projects by individuals - not paid for by the companies launching all this stuff.
Context for this @e38e83a6 post In Jan 2022, #SpaceX owned and operated 1,655 satellites (“more than a third of the total satellites in orbit”). https://dewesoft.com/blog/every-satellite-orbiting-earth-and-who-owns-them Aug 2023, NYT SpaceX has “about 4,500” satellites. “So one company, I mean, one man, in fact, is responsible for 50 percent of the satellites in space” https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/09/podcasts/the-daily/elon-musk-starlink-space.html “The company is the only U.S. entity currently able to send astronauts to orbit” https://www.axios.com/2023/09/05/spacex-dominance-space-industry #Musk https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/111/026/160/902/762/645/original/f735fe647b5bc980.jpeg
@e38e83a6 once again, musk proves that he is an unreliable businessman. The guy is his own worst enemy, and probably all of ours. This is going to accelerate many countries development of their own satellite infrastructure for defence, because Musk is unreliable.
@e38e83a6 The Stupidity is endless
@e38e83a6 sometime I fantasise about the amount of effort/energy/$ it would take to launch a satellite-cleaning satellite. Not a whole lot I suspect (provided you’re not in too much of a hurry and are happy with slow but efficient orbit adjustments)… Granted, a state entity doing that… would probably start WW3, but a fun thought nonetheless…
@e38e83a6 because governments always cater to money? Just my own guess. 😑
@e38e83a6 time to boycott all things Musk--not including melons. It's time to boycott all things Musk ( not including melons( It's time to boycott all things Musk ( not including melons(
@e38e83a6 Space seems big, but it’s a finite resource that we all share. To communicate, observe the stars… How the use and access of it can be controlled by a few for profit companies is beyond comprehension. They are also competing with each other so they launch more satellites than needed, like several competing water companies laying pipes to compete in a neighborhood 🤦🏽
@e38e83a6 We need more firms in this field
@e38e83a6 you just need the money and maybe create a satelite collector to remove all of this garbage from there
@e38e83a6 so bad. so dangerous. So fucking negligent.
