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SpaceX wants to launch 100k more Starlink satellites for 100x the bandwidth

zdnet.com

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Re: SpaceX wants to launch 100k more Starlink satellites for 100x the bandwidth

#561

Post by ben_w »

dzhiurgis wrote: post #553
ben_w wrote: post #536

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 'My kids had to see a power line going through the country side' A lot of people get upset about such things, even those are rather more important than just adding to the world's existing widespread internet access.

Wind turbines and solar farms is another one. It’s same people who whinge about crying babies on plane.

All of those three examples are also rather more important than Starlink.

Starlink is cool, and has some niches, but this is a fairly limited argument in its favour.

Re: SpaceX wants to launch 100k more Starlink satellites for 100x the bandwidth

#562

Post by CWIZO »

moomoo11 wrote: post #486
Lomlioto wrote: post #479

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

so what's the alternative? just don't make any progress?

Yes? We don't have to blindly and constantly be making progress on everything at all cost. Look around you, look at what all this progress did to the world we live in.

Re: SpaceX wants to launch 100k more Starlink satellites for 100x the bandwidth

#563

Post by ben_w »

laughing_man wrote: post #454
oceanplexian wrote: post #234

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Starlink accounted for 69% of SpaceX revenue pre-merger and is speculated to be already profitable including launch costs. And this is all before they launch a phone or something, or replace global fiber interconnect with a lower latency space-based alternative, replace all forms of space based telecommunications (TV, Satellite Radio, etc). Starlink is a $1T+ business without even getting creative.

Starlink made a $4 bn profit last year, and is apparently growing 30% YoY.

Starlink isn't billed for the cost of launches.

https://www.fool.com/investing/2026/06/29/spacex-secret-laun...

Re: SpaceX wants to launch 100k more Starlink satellites for 100x the bandwidth

#564

Post by GCUMstlyHarmls »

holoduke wrote: post #534
petterroea wrote: post #446

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Starlink has its uses, but I really don't understand those who get starlink while living in built-up areas. Starlink is just a re-skin of the "Wireless optic" thing a lot of ISPs are pushing because they would prefer not having to lay cables and instead have everyone use 5g routers. Of course, the service isn't comparable, but regular people don't necessarily know it. Fiberoptic is still king, and probably will be fo…

For war it is. Drones and other unmanned aircraft are the future of warfare. That's the whole reason why every country now heavily invests in low orbit sats. It's not about consumers. Also not for spacex. Defence contracts are zillion times more worth. Once you are in you reach the end level as a business.

Didn't we just see that wired drones are the current peak over wireless, and Russia is at this moment jamming satellite drone control...

Re: SpaceX wants to launch 100k more Starlink satellites for 100x the bandwidth

#565

Post by [deleted] »

foxglacier wrote: post #433
digitaltrees wrote: post #379

I have started to see what I think are star link satellites at night on walks with my kids. It actually makes me sad to see that on person owns the night sky and is changing the literal stars my kids will grow up with. It feels different when it’s the government that theoretically represents people but when it’s one person that feels truly depressing.

[flagged]

[deleted]

Re: SpaceX wants to launch 100k more Starlink satellites for 100x the bandwidth

#566

Post by londons_explore »

digitaltrees wrote: post #379

I have started to see what I think are star link satellites at night on walks with my kids. It actually makes me sad to see that on person owns the night sky and is changing the literal stars my kids will grow up with. It feels different when it’s the government that theoretically represents people but when it’s one person that feels truly depressing.

There are various satellite finder apps. I suspect you'll find starlink satellites are mostly too dim to see - with most of what's visible being other older satellites

Re: SpaceX wants to launch 100k more Starlink satellites for 100x the bandwidth

#567

Post by ben_w »

throwthrowuknow wrote: post #552
ben_w wrote: post #532

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Their brightness is a mixture of a lot of things, including the huge PV arrays and the angle they have with the sun when they cross the terminator between night and day. Starlink have already put a lot of effort into their satellites being much less bright than most satellites, including tilting their PV away from earth during the terminator crossing, so from what I've read you'll mainly see them while they're being…

Would the “datacenter” satellites be much larger? I thought each of them was only going to carry a rack or a cabinet worth of GPUs?

Much larger.

The compute part may be a rack or a cabinet worth of GPUs (though TBH the public designs are currently vague to the point of being artistic impressions), but they also need to come with a PV array big enough to power that, plus a cooling array that's going to be close to 25% as big as the PV array regardless of what unit size they go for in the end.

If they settle on making e.g. 120 kW satellites, that would be about 400 m^2 for the PV and another 100 m^2 for the radiator.

Re: SpaceX wants to launch 100k more Starlink satellites for 100x the bandwidth

#568

Post by taneq »

zefr0g wrote: post #476
dietr1ch wrote: post #397

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To anyone thinking that 18m² isn't that big for how large the space is, please recall how bright reflective things shine during the day when you hit the right angle.

18x18 is 324m^2

So very roughly a 300kW spotlight pointed at a relatively small area (wild guess at around 1km^2, anyone done the maths?)

Edit: A 5km diameter spot illuminated from 600km altitude.

Re: SpaceX wants to launch 100k more Starlink satellites for 100x the bandwidth

#569

Post by IMTDb »

digitaltrees wrote: post #379

I have started to see what I think are star link satellites at night on walks with my kids. It actually makes me sad to see that on person owns the night sky and is changing the literal stars my kids will grow up with. It feels different when it’s the government that theoretically represents people but when it’s one person that feels truly depressing.

Which government ? And based on the past few month, if your are thinking of the US governemnt; I can assure you that it is actively being harmful to me.

I have no love for SpaceX but at least I can take a subscription or invest and the stock and pretend that those satellites are beneficial to me.

There isn’t a single US government owned satellite that is not actively harmful to me at the moment.

Re: SpaceX wants to launch 100k more Starlink satellites for 100x the bandwidth

#570

Post by redsocksfan45 »

Fraterkes wrote: post #549
horns4lyfe wrote: post #257

I’m shocked by the number of people here thinking you won’t be able to see the night sky because of 100k satellites. Is this site getting dumber?

People are complaining about their views getting polluted, they’re not saying they literally can’t see the night sky. If you’d like hn comments to be smarter, consider starting with your own.

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