Live data from Hacker News

Space industry lacks workers needed to rebuild satellites lost in war: report

defensenews.com

61–66 of 66 posts

Re: Space industry lacks workers needed to rebuild satellites lost in war: report

#61

You could say the same thing about any military hardware during a peace-time economy. It’s not a matter if it exists, it’s a matter if the relevant knowledge exists in domestic/friendly industrial base. The U.S. is making more satellites than the rest of the world combined right now.

It's also whether it matters if you have people available to replace the things. Any conflict that gets to the point of taking out satellites will almost certainly trigger Kessler syndrome, at which point whether you can launch any more satellites becomes moot.

Re: Space industry lacks workers needed to rebuild satellites lost in war: report

#62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> Somehow I doubt that after a war with China, satellites would be high on the priority list of things that need rebuilding. If GPS goes down, most of our communications will go down. A lot of other stuff falls from there. I suspect we'd be OK after a brief adjustment, but it would be very disruptive.

Did you mean “transportation”? Communications networks are not reliant on GNSS.

A lot of things rely on GNSS for time synchronization, even if they're not moving....

Re: Space industry lacks workers needed to rebuild satellites lost in war: report

#63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did you mean “transportation”? Communications networks are not reliant on GNSS.

A lot of things rely on GNSS for time synchronization, even if they're not moving....

These are bizarre assertions. GNSS is one way to navigate, and GNSS is one way to synchronize time-of-day. Communications networks are full of devices that don't have, or use, any GPS receivers at all. NTP, WiFi, DOCSIS, DSL, leased lines, servers, core routers, switches, desktops and laptops are all things that won't even notice that GPS was unavailable.

Re: Space industry lacks workers needed to rebuild satellites lost in war: report

#64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the point is that there are scenarios where large powers would disable/destroy each other's satellites without using nuclear weapons and we would be poorly prepared to replace them.

I think once satellites are in pieces while orbiting it’s not just a workforce problem to be solved.

I would prefer last mile fiber as well. Unfortunately infrastructure spending is not a thing currently in the USA.

Re: Space industry lacks workers needed to rebuild satellites lost in war: report

#65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But markets can make doing those things financially worthwhile.

One of the bigger problems with capitalism is that it reacts much too slowly to be a viable economic system.

It seems to run much of the planet and can go pretty quick when there are not bureaucracies slowing it.
Post reply on HN