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SpaceX wants to launch a million satellites

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Re: SpaceX wants to launch a million satellites

#11

Post by codingdave »

ReptileMan wrote: post #8
codingdave wrote: post #2

> ... data centres that won’t have an environmental impact here on Earth. Really? I wonder how they are going to get them up there without rocket launches?

100 tons is quite a lot of gpus. If they manage to solve such "minor" problems as powering and cooling them they could run for a decade or so without consuming or polluting. The methane burned to get mass into orbit is trivial - a 500MW powerplant burns that much in under a day.

Yeah, that response trivializes the massive burn that power plants perform each day.

When I worked in a midstream gas company, I recall a meeting when we were explaining the business to some new IT folk, and talking about the plants that process 100K barrels. One new guy in particular literally dropped his jaw and said, "you process 100K barrels of gas a year??" The room looked at him like he was insane and the woman running the meeting politely replied: "No, per day."

So acting as if "it burns less than a power plant" somehow means it is trivial is just a really odd take.

Besides, the methane burn is one piece of the puzzle. There is more to environmental impact than just methane.

Re: SpaceX wants to launch a million satellites

#12

Post by aruggirello »

Ekaros wrote: post #4
codingdave wrote: post #2

> ... data centres that won’t have an environmental impact here on Earth. Really? I wonder how they are going to get them up there without rocket launches?

And getting them down. Or allowing them to come down on their own... I doubt that is entirely environmental impact free.

LEO satellites come down on their own in a few months/years. 100 tons of metal burning in the atmosphere seems a lot, but it's barely the total mass of meteorites falling in 24-48 hours, actually.

Re: SpaceX wants to launch a million satellites

#13

Post by tristanj »

Starlink has been so successful, it is facing a lot of competition in the next few years. Every major power wants their own, national starlink network.

China's state-backed starlink competitor GuoWang is putting 13,000 satellites in orbit by 2030. They've already started launching satellites.

China's Qianfan plans 15,000 satellites by 2030.

AST SpaceMobile is building their own network.

Amazon Leo plans for 3,000 satellites in orbit, and is already launching satellites.

The EU is building IRIS², explicitly as a Starlink alternative.

Russia, after realizing how critical starlink is on the battlefield, is building its own Rassvet network. They've already launched satellites.

Re: SpaceX wants to launch a million satellites

#14

Post by vkou »

ReptileMan wrote: post #8
codingdave wrote: post #2

> ... data centres that won’t have an environmental impact here on Earth. Really? I wonder how they are going to get them up there without rocket launches?

100 tons is quite a lot of gpus. If they manage to solve such "minor" problems as powering and cooling them they could run for a decade or so without consuming or polluting. The methane burned to get mass into orbit is trivial - a 500MW powerplant burns that much in under a day.

The problem isn't GPUs the problem is cooling them.

Look into what percentage of the ISS by weight is radiators, look into how little power it can generate and radiate, and you'll see that space data centers is the shitcoin pitch of 2026.

Re: SpaceX wants to launch a million satellites

#15

Post by tristanj »

SilverElfin wrote: post #3

Should be banned. These companies are destroying a piece of the environment that belongs to all of us - the night sky.

Banning Starlink is inadequate and won't change anything. China is building its own larger version with 25,000+ satellites. Russia is building its own network. The EU is building its own network.

Re: SpaceX wants to launch a million satellites

#16

Post by sedawkgrep »

polski-g wrote: post #10
SilverElfin wrote: post #3

Should be banned. These companies are destroying a piece of the environment that belongs to all of us - the night sky.

If you people were in charge in the 1800s, you'd ban the industrial revolution and we'd still need slaves for everything.

You don’t think there might be a better solution than having a dozen or more companies all launching thousands of satellites which all perform the same function?

Re: SpaceX wants to launch a million satellites

#17

Post by ReptileMan »

codingdave wrote: post #11
ReptileMan wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

100 tons is quite a lot of gpus. If they manage to solve such "minor" problems as powering and cooling them they could run for a decade or so without consuming or polluting. The methane burned to get mass into orbit is trivial - a 500MW powerplant burns that much in under a day.

Yeah, that response trivializes the massive burn that power plants perform each day. When I worked in a midstream gas company, I recall a meeting when we were explaining the business to some new IT folk, and talking about the plants that process 100K barrels. One new guy in particular literally dropped his jaw and said, "you process 100K barrels of gas a year??" The room looked at him like he was insane and the woman…

Yes it is trivial when humanity is burning 100 million barrels of oil per day and 300 tons of coal per second and 100 tons of natural gas per second.

Re: SpaceX wants to launch a million satellites

#18

Post by kingleopold »

vkou wrote: post #14
ReptileMan wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

100 tons is quite a lot of gpus. If they manage to solve such "minor" problems as powering and cooling them they could run for a decade or so without consuming or polluting. The methane burned to get mass into orbit is trivial - a 500MW powerplant burns that much in under a day.

The problem isn't GPUs the problem is cooling them. Look into what percentage of the ISS by weight is radiators, look into how little power it can generate and radiate, and you'll see that space data centers is the shitcoin pitch of 2026.

Also they are not building them in 3D space with current tech. We clearly don't have it. Cars barely drive themselves in cities, they are decade behind building and maintaining a. datacenter in space.

Re: SpaceX wants to launch a million satellites

#19

Post by shafyy »

tristanj wrote: post #15
SilverElfin wrote: post #3

Should be banned. These companies are destroying a piece of the environment that belongs to all of us - the night sky.

Banning Starlink is inadequate and won't change anything. China is building its own larger version with 25,000+ satellites. Russia is building its own network. The EU is building its own network.

[flagged]

Re: SpaceX wants to launch a million satellites

#20

Post by shafyy »

polski-g wrote: post #10
SilverElfin wrote: post #3

Should be banned. These companies are destroying a piece of the environment that belongs to all of us - the night sky.

If you people were in charge in the 1800s, you'd ban the industrial revolution and we'd still need slaves for everything.

Jesus dude
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