31–40 of 136 posts
Are these still missing laser comms?
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 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.
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No. The shuttle boosters were expended every single launch. The Falcon 9 booster comes back and lands. Ironically, the Falcon 9 second stage is expended every single launch, but that will not be the case with Super Heavy / Starship that is in development.
No they were not. Only the external tank was expended. The SRBs were refurbished and the orbiter was reused/refurbished.
Something that's often overlooked here is how extensive the required refurbishment is.
The "reusable" shuttle boosters and orbiter engines took substantial time (https://www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson/pdf/584723main_Wings-ch... says 4-5 months), money, and labor to get ready for the next launch. SpaceX is still making noise about trying out a same-day reflight sometime soon; it's clearly a much less involved process.
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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.
What's the plan there, it seems to be one of the primary features. Will they go up and add them retroactively or do they plan to just deploy so many satellites that have them later.
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.
Not initially, but as cost to orbit goes down and the satellite tech improves, it could become the default way over time.
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I didn't know the space shuttle reused it's boosters. Apparently the two solid rocket boosters deployed parachutes after separation and were refurbished. Interesting! However the main booster could not be reused...
SRB separation happened when the shuttle reached ~3,100 mph. The external tank was jettisoned at ~17,500 mph, more than 5 times the speed (or 25 times the kinetic energy that would need to be dissipated in the atmosphere to recover).
Just a question. Will we actually see those things in the nightsky? I hope not...
I think in the cities of the developed world we don't realize how big this going to be for rural dwellers and people in the developing world.