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SpaceX delivers 3rd batch of Starlink satellites in two weeks

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Re: SpaceX delivers 3rd batch of Starlink satellites in two weeks

#141

Post by tuatoru »

Thorondor wrote: post #91
missedthecue wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder how much rare earth material will get incinerated over the next few decades with thousands of these things burning up annually. Hope we figure out space mining quick.

Rare earth elements actually aren't that rare. For example, neodymium makes up over 30 ppm of Earth's crust. That's more common than lead, cobalt, tin, thorium, tungsten, molybdenum, and quite a few other elements with large-scale industrial applications. The difficult part of producing rare-earth elements is separating them from everything else. Tiny pieces of spacecraft dust scattered over a large area don't make v…

"Earth" is an old word for ore.

Rare earth elements are so named because their earths are rare: there aren't many places on the crust where their concentration is significantly above the average. Mining depends on the existence of mineral earths.

GP raises a valid point -- although a weak one.

Re: SpaceX delivers 3rd batch of Starlink satellites in two weeks

#142

Post by okl »

ruph123 wrote: post #140

More junk, and no responsibilities of the companies whatsoever. The cleanup (or kessler syndrome-related catastrophe) will be payed with taxpayer money: https://platform.leolabs.space/visualizations/leo

That's a very cool visualization. When you zoom in you can even see small 3D models that represent the type of debris.

Re: SpaceX delivers 3rd batch of Starlink satellites in two weeks

#143

Post by elihu »

Magodo wrote: post #4

I'm keen to see Starlink deals with government censorship requests. Can a country even effectively enforce their requests? How will China enforce the Great Firewall for instance?

> How will China enforce the Great Firewall for instance?

By filing legal complaints through the ITU (which is a UN agency), probably. I expect some international treaties probably come into play. Basically, China complains to the UN, the UN tells the US they can't provide Internet service in China unless they follow China's rules, and then the FCC tells SpaceX that if they don't comply the FCC will shut them down.

Of course, the US government could just decide to ignore China and let SpaceX do whatever they want. (This is all assuming that SpaceX wants to be the Robin Hood of the global Internet and take censorship from the powerful and give access to the poor and not worry about the geopolitical or economic consequences. They might just want to be a regular internet service provider that follows all the rules in whatever country they operate in and doesn't make waves. They could also just not offer service in China.)

Re: SpaceX delivers 3rd batch of Starlink satellites in two weeks

#144

Post by voldacar »

wcoenen wrote: post #59
postingawayonhn wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think anyone has the ability to shoot down enough Starlink satellites to make a difference. Musk's biggest risk in China is the CCP confiscating the Tesla factory in Shanghai.

Turning one satellite into a cloud of debris would suffice, Kessler syndrome would do the rest.

Debris would deorbit rapidly, starlink satellites are relatively low-altitude.

Re: SpaceX delivers 3rd batch of Starlink satellites in two weeks

#147

Post by shantara »

ruph123 wrote: post #140

More junk, and no responsibilities of the companies whatsoever. The cleanup (or kessler syndrome-related catastrophe) will be payed with taxpayer money: https://platform.leolabs.space/visualizations/leo

Starlink satellites are flying in low Earth orbit with the natural decay and reentry time no more than 5 years.

I see this same argument repeated in every Starlink discussion thread.

Re: SpaceX delivers 3rd batch of Starlink satellites in two weeks

#148

Post by throwaway53453 »

postingawayonhn wrote: post #41
Roritharr wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder if the USG would consider the shooting down of Starlink Satellites as an act of war after SpaceX refuses to comply with chinese regulations. It's probably all moot as China would probably simply halt Tesla Sales, as they are not bound by the logics of legality.

I don't think anyone has the ability to shoot down enough Starlink satellites to make a difference. Musk's biggest risk in China is the CCP confiscating the Tesla factory in Shanghai.

This is why the Space Force is unironically a great idea.

Re: SpaceX delivers 3rd batch of Starlink satellites in two weeks

#149

Post by missedthecue »

jiofih wrote: post #68
missedthecue wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder how much rare earth material will get incinerated over the next few decades with thousands of these things burning up annually. Hope we figure out space mining quick.

Probably about half a suburban town’s worth of iPhones.

But all the components of an iPhone can technically be recycled to one degree or another (even if they aren't at present). Once a satellite has been incinerated, that's it. And there will be thousands of these, and several providers. That's thousands and thousands of pounds of material disappearing for good, every year.

Re: SpaceX delivers 3rd batch of Starlink satellites in two weeks

#150

Post by okl »

shantara wrote: post #147
ruph123 wrote: post #140

More junk, and no responsibilities of the companies whatsoever. The cleanup (or kessler syndrome-related catastrophe) will be payed with taxpayer money: https://platform.leolabs.space/visualizations/leo

Starlink satellites are flying in low Earth orbit with the natural decay and reentry time no more than 5 years. I see this same argument repeated in every Starlink discussion thread.

Junk is junk, even if it's "just" 5 years.
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