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Amazon's Satellite Project Will Cost Billions, Jeff Bezos Says

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Re: Amazon's Satellite Project Will Cost Billions, Jeff Bezos Says

#3
I assume there are a finite number of these swarms that we can deploy in LEO, both in economic terms as well as dedicating space and spectrum?

I’ve heard of three companies now that want to achieve this. I’m not sure if there’s anything particularly distinctive about one versus the other, other than SpaceX is the only one with the proven launch capacity to bring that much mass to orbit.

I have a lot less faith in Bezos pulling this off, but mostly it seems a waste to start an ISP just to earn Amazon shareholders a larger dividend.

Re: Amazon's Satellite Project Will Cost Billions, Jeff Bezos Says

#4
post #3

I assume there are a finite number of these swarms that we can deploy in LEO, both in economic terms as well as dedicating space and spectrum? I’ve heard of three companies now that want to achieve this. I’m not sure if there’s anything particularly distinctive about one versus the other, other than SpaceX is the only one with the proven launch capacity to bring that much mass to orbit. I have a lot less faith in Bez…

Dedicating space? We have three deminsions to work with, but even if it were two, space around earth is bigger than surface of earth. The earth is very big and these constellations are small. The satellites are small too. At this low an orbit, not worried about long lasting junk due to atmos drag iiuc

Re: Amazon's Satellite Project Will Cost Billions, Jeff Bezos Says

#5
post #3

I assume there are a finite number of these swarms that we can deploy in LEO, both in economic terms as well as dedicating space and spectrum? I’ve heard of three companies now that want to achieve this. I’m not sure if there’s anything particularly distinctive about one versus the other, other than SpaceX is the only one with the proven launch capacity to bring that much mass to orbit. I have a lot less faith in Bez…

Amazon shareholders do not earn a dividend. SpaceX is not public, but rather would enrich a much smaller set of investors (and particularly Musk). What’s your point?

Re: Amazon's Satellite Project Will Cost Billions, Jeff Bezos Says

#8
I thought sats in LEO have fundamental issue that they can’t stay up too long. In rather short time, their fuel would run out and they will burn off in atmosphere.

Does this mean you have to keep replishining them at regular intervals like less than a year or two?

Re: Amazon's Satellite Project Will Cost Billions, Jeff Bezos Says

#9
post #2

So we'll be at ~20,000 satellites in orbit with this and Starlink. That's four times as many as are currently in orbit.

Well, if we want to generate the efficiencies of scale that would ever allow us to get off this rock, we've got to start with something. There is a lot of money kicking around not doing a whole lot right now, and building rockets is more likely to get us going in the right direction than acqu-hiring another Uber for Cats whizzbang startup for grossly more than it is worth.

Re: Amazon's Satellite Project Will Cost Billions, Jeff Bezos Says

#10
post #3

I assume there are a finite number of these swarms that we can deploy in LEO, both in economic terms as well as dedicating space and spectrum? I’ve heard of three companies now that want to achieve this. I’m not sure if there’s anything particularly distinctive about one versus the other, other than SpaceX is the only one with the proven launch capacity to bring that much mass to orbit. I have a lot less faith in Bez…

Amazon shareholders do not earn a dividend. SpaceX is not public, but rather would enrich a much smaller set of investors (and particularly Musk). What’s your point?

Aren't SpaceX creating Starlink to generate funds to support other projects; in particular, their plans to create the rockets and infrastructure to ultimately colonise Mars?

i.e. not (primarily) to "enrich a much smaller set of investors (and particularly Musk)"?

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