SpaceX launches 60 more Starlink satellites • Hacker News Board

Re: SpaceX launches 60 more Starlink satellites

#41

Post by modeless » Thu, Jun 04, 2020, 4:11 PM UTC

sunseb wrote: post #16

Just a question. Will we actually see those things in the nightsky? I hope not...

Yes, for a week or so, if they happen to fly over your location within an hour or so after sunset or before sunrise, not in the middle of the night. After that they will start rotating to reduce their visibility and become more difficult to see. After a few weeks they will reach higher orbits and become invisible to the naked eye from most locations.

One satellite in this batch has an experimental sunshade which should make it completely invisible to the naked eye regardless of the location, once it reaches its final orbit. This sunshade will likely be on every satellite in subsequent launches.

Re: SpaceX launches 60 more Starlink satellites

#42

Post by bryanlarsen » Thu, Jun 04, 2020, 4:16 PM UTC

thecolorblue wrote: post #7

new_realist wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Like the Space Shuttle.

Except much cheaper. Space Shuttle Budget: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_program#Budget Falcon 9 costs: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falcon_9#Pricing Not directly comparable but still show a large improvement in efficiency.

IIRC https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HF69nqY3TZs says 2 million man hours of refurbishment for the shuttle.

Re: SpaceX launches 60 more Starlink satellites

#43

Post by rhacker » Thu, Jun 04, 2020, 4:35 PM UTC

sontek wrote: post #25

As someone who lives in the mountains of Puerto Rico and has to rely on "unlimited" cell phone coverage that data caps me and satellite internet that also has data caps.... I can't wait until starlink is up and running and we may have an option for high speed, low latency, internet for us who hate cities and love nature :)

Especially useful for web pages that have 6MB rocket takeoff GIFs ;)

Re: SpaceX launches 60 more Starlink satellites

#44

Post by rkangel » Thu, Jun 04, 2020, 4:41 PM UTC

jetrink wrote: post #26

SEJeff wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes. They couldn't make them entirely burn up on re-entry so the FAA blocked them using them until they solve that. It is the risk of them falling on someone.

I'm curious what the level of risk actually is. The earth is struck by many small meteorites every day. We don't know how many, but based on how many are observed, it's probably on the order of 10/day. The last person struck by a meteorite was Ann Hodges in 1954. She was only bruised, since, like most people at any given time, she was protected by a roof. A woman named Lottie Williams was struck by part of a Delta ro…

It's about risk tradeoffs.

Slight risk of fatal debris collision vs benefit of Starlink? Probably worth the risk.

Slight risk vs cost of having Starlink design into more burnable bits? Probably worth having them redesign.

Re: SpaceX launches 60 more Starlink satellites

#45

Post by PostThisTooFast » Thu, Jun 04, 2020, 4:43 PM UTC

sontek wrote: post #25

As someone who lives in the mountains of Puerto Rico and has to rely on "unlimited" cell phone coverage that data caps me and satellite internet that also has data caps.... I can't wait until starlink is up and running and we may have an option for high speed, low latency, internet for us who hate cities and love nature :)

What’s the capacity of the system?

For the light-pollution cost, I hope it turns out better than Iridium.

Re: SpaceX launches 60 more Starlink satellites

#46

Post by joezydeco » Thu, Jun 04, 2020, 4:44 PM UTC

sunseb wrote: post #16

Just a question. Will we actually see those things in the nightsky? I hope not...

https://findstarlink.com/

Re: SpaceX launches 60 more Starlink satellites

#47

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Jun 04, 2020, 4:44 PM UTC

jblake wrote: post #23

I'm so excited for Starlink! As a solo founder I do all of my support, but I like to frequently go off-roading and camping outside of cell service. I have a satellite messenger for critical things, but it still leaves me feeling quite anxious to go on extended trips. If I can toss a starlink dish in a briefcase and get fast affordable internet in the Sierra's, life will be good.

[deleted]

Re: SpaceX launches 60 more Starlink satellites

#48

Post by PostThisTooFast » Thu, Jun 04, 2020, 4:45 PM UTC

TenJack wrote: post #27

I'm kinda bummed Starlink is not going to lead to cheaper consumer internet and replace cable internet. Sounds like it is mainly for rural areas which is great but I hoped it was going to bunny hop fiber.

Why waste its capacity in places where terrestrial options are feasible?

Re: SpaceX launches 60 more Starlink satellites

#49

Post by ballenf » Thu, Jun 04, 2020, 4:49 PM UTC

TenJack wrote: post #27

I'm kinda bummed Starlink is not going to lead to cheaper consumer internet and replace cable internet. Sounds like it is mainly for rural areas which is great but I hoped it was going to bunny hop fiber.

I thought there was discussion of base stations. Couldn't they do 1 per apartment building or block without the density issues?

Re: SpaceX launches 60 more Starlink satellites

#50

Post by 52-6F-62 » Thu, Jun 04, 2020, 5:01 PM UTC

sontek wrote: post #25

As someone who lives in the mountains of Puerto Rico and has to rely on "unlimited" cell phone coverage that data caps me and satellite internet that also has data caps.... I can't wait until starlink is up and running and we may have an option for high speed, low latency, internet for us who hate cities and love nature :)

Absolutely. Many places in rural Canada don't have great, if any, options for high speed internet and sometimes even reliable cellular. That's great if you want to escape the connected world, but for those of us who would like to at least spend more time away from the city and who don't have the ability to just leave our jobs... it could be a game changer.