Amazon Seeks Permission to Launch 3k Internet Satellites • Hacker News Board

Re: Amazon Seeks Permission to Launch 3k Internet Satellites

#41

Post by friedman23 » Fri, Jul 05, 2019, 8:49 PM UTC

Waterluvian wrote: post #15

the8472 wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's particulary dystopic about it? Preserving nature is valuable because we rely on the ecosystem, you can't really make that argument for the dead emptiness that is space. Ubiquitous space access even is a common theme in scifi utopias!

I think it's close but missing one really key point. Imagine if this was being done by some non profit international consortium funded by many nations.

> non profit international consortium funded by many nations

that sounds horrible

Re: Amazon Seeks Permission to Launch 3k Internet Satellites

#42

Post by mtgx » Fri, Jul 05, 2019, 8:49 PM UTC

buboard wrote: post #17

strikelaserclaw wrote: post #9

Anyone wanna offer me their hypothesis on what Amazon and other tech companies gain from offering internet to people who probably aren't valuable consumers?

It s a ruse. The US will win the landgrab for controlling the communication networks of up and coming regions like Africa before the Chinese do

Not a bad point at all, especially with Amazon joining at the hip with the U.S. government lately.

Re: Amazon Seeks Permission to Launch 3k Internet Satellites

#43

Post by sneak » Fri, Jul 05, 2019, 8:50 PM UTC

luizfzs wrote: post #31

They're just copying SpaceX. That's disappointing.

Just as disappointing as that time they copied K-mart and Wal-Mart.

Re: Amazon Seeks Permission to Launch 3k Internet Satellites

#44

Post by michaelt » Fri, Jul 05, 2019, 8:50 PM UTC

jandrewrogers wrote: post #25

strikelaserclaw wrote: post #9

Anyone wanna offer me their hypothesis on what Amazon and other tech companies gain from offering internet to people who probably aren't valuable consumers?

Satellites are outside the regulatory authority of countries they operate over. They can do far more of value than merely provide Internet access to poor people.

Are you imagining they'll provide uncensored internet in China or something?

I agree it's mechanically possible, but Amazon isn't the company I'd have expected to do it.

Re: Amazon Seeks Permission to Launch 3k Internet Satellites

#45

Post by jonplackett » Fri, Jul 05, 2019, 8:51 PM UTC

penagwin wrote: post #39

chisleu wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

not a problem if they are maintained in the way the SpaceX sats are going to be.

> not a problem if they are maintained in the way the SpaceX sats are going to be. Aka - Not a problem if they are well thought out, well planned, and maintained. Are there international agreements that specify this is the case? Just curious, real question.

Yeah ditto. And are there agreements to stop them interfering with each other? I get that space is really really big but surely there needs to be a way to coordinate so much stuff up there.

Re: Amazon Seeks Permission to Launch 3k Internet Satellites

#46

Post by new_realist » Fri, Jul 05, 2019, 8:52 PM UTC

the8472 wrote: post #16

throw0101a wrote: post #10

At what point should we start worrying about Kessler Syndrome? > The Kessler syndrome (also called the Kessler effect,[1][2] collisional cascading or ablation cascade), proposed by the NASA scientist Donald J. Kessler in 1978, is a scenario in which the density of objects in low Earth orbit (LEO) is high enough that collisions between objects could cause a cascade in which each collision generates space debris that i…

Those dense internet satellite constellations will be in low earth orbit, which have relatively fast decay times. So even in the worst case it would only set us back by a few decades while either cleanup solutions are developed or we wait for them to decay naturally. You can still launch through the debris field into higher orbits because the collision probability will be quite low at any given moment, it just adds u…

What about debris from LEO collisions moving into higher orbits?

Re: Amazon Seeks Permission to Launch 3k Internet Satellites

#47

Post by sneak » Fri, Jul 05, 2019, 8:53 PM UTC

The amazing thing to me is that this article does not include the words “spacex” or “starlink” once in the webpage.

Do you have to pay extra for that sort of press hit?

Re: Amazon Seeks Permission to Launch 3k Internet Satellites

#48

Post by CPLX » Fri, Jul 05, 2019, 8:53 PM UTC

new_realist wrote: post #46

the8472 wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Those dense internet satellite constellations will be in low earth orbit, which have relatively fast decay times. So even in the worst case it would only set us back by a few decades while either cleanup solutions are developed or we wait for them to decay naturally. You can still launch through the debris field into higher orbits because the collision probability will be quite low at any given moment, it just adds u…

What about debris from LEO collisions moving into higher orbits?

Gravity is directional.

Re: Amazon Seeks Permission to Launch 3k Internet Satellites

#49

Post by new_realist » Fri, Jul 05, 2019, 8:56 PM UTC

luizfzs wrote: post #31

They're just copying SpaceX. That's disappointing.

OneWeb launched before SpaceX, but they’re all copying Teledesic/Iridium.

Re: Amazon Seeks Permission to Launch 3k Internet Satellites

#50

Post by davidlumley » Fri, Jul 05, 2019, 8:56 PM UTC

Private corporations owning more and more utility infrastructure really concerns me.

Is there a world where nations band together and launch this as public infrastructure rather than private corporations lobbying a USA government agency for permission?