51–60 of 136 posts
You know those airplanes with a banner at the beach? I can imagine a constellation of satellites writing ads (live) in space using mirrors and other nifty tech. Unless regulation stops it.
I don't think such a thing could hold together very long, unless it was just a string in a line. Maybe in Morse code? With multiple launches you could probably get several parallel strings, and use it like a dot matrix printer. It would be a heck of a stunt. But I wouldn't expect it to last for more than one orbit, and only part of the planet could see it.
A startup idea: launch satellites to capture clean night sky photos, with tiered subscription model of course.
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This is very easy to say sitting in a developed country where your access to information has never been in question. There are still millions if not billions that don't have access to the rest of humanity's knowledge.
I've been thinking about it for a while; and that's exactly the thing I've been questioning for some time. I'm not as convinced as I was that more knowledge equals a better life. I reflect back on how much time I've spent on countless hours of useless YouTube binges. I've wasted so much time on the internet that could have been spent on things that would have made me happier.
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I don’t know what the hell you’re going on about for the most part, but the fact is it’s not economically viable for ISPs or even governments to build fibre out to most rural areas. Satellite internet has been a game changer for people living in these areas. The people who grow your food deserve to be able to video chat with their family and stream videos at resolutions higher than 480p without constant buffering.
I agree that there are strong economic reasons in favor but lets not overstate things. If it was economically viable to build out copper telephone lines to those areas then there is zero reason fiber should pose an issue. As far as raw materials go fiber is much cheaper than copper.
It wasn't, it was subsidized by the government.
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Might then have a lot of overheating satellites :)
Put the black surface an inch away from the satellite, supported by standoffs. That'll keep the heat away from the satellite. Also, the black surface only needs to be on the Earth facing side.
Just paint the satellites black?
It should also be possible to de-orbit obsolete satellites faster if they can at end-of-life deploy a "sail" that will cause more drag.
https://www.colorado.edu/faculty/kantha/sites/default/files/...>
(A plot point in Neal Stephenson's Seveneves.)
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Starlink and similar do not have the capacity for true global internet access. They are suitable only for their current, niche markets e.g. rural areas. If you truly want global internet access fibre is the best option.
How do you get fiber to the top of a mountain or the middle of the ocean?
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Perhaps there is more to be gained from terrestrial astronomy than pretty pictures?
Such as?