Kessler Syndrome • Hacker News Board

Re: Kessler Syndrome

#61

Post by stcredzero » Fri, Nov 02, 2018, 5:21 PM UTC

7000skeletons wrote: post #55

Namari wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Didn't read the manga but the anime was pretty good.

Honestly, I preferred the manga to the anime. Not to say that the latter is bad, by any stretch of the imagination, but it did get a bit wild and off-the-rails with it's final arc. The manga keeps things very grounded and existential. Anyone who's ever worked a shitty job for menial pay with no chance of advancement/further prospects will find something to relate to.

Also, nicotine withdrawal ("nic-fits") are severe enough to turn even the most jaded working stiffs into a hero!

Re: Kessler Syndrome

#62

Post by ogre_magi » Fri, Nov 02, 2018, 5:44 PM UTC

stcredzero wrote: post #60

ogre_magi wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>How many satellites could you knock out if you really tried? With a single launch scattering a lot of debris? You could reliably take out ONE satellite. The clouds of debris creating a cascade of destruction as depicted in the movie Gravity are entirely fictional.

How about a hundred BFR sized launchers? (Just scaling it up to nation-state/Bond villain levels, out of curiosity.)

That's enough debris to choke off LEO, but it wont stay up there for very long. You'd need to refresh the debris cloud every few decades.

Edit to add:

The easier and cheaper villainous way to deny spaceflight to someone is just to shoot missiles at their spacecraft.

Re: Kessler Syndrome

#63

Post by danielvf » Fri, Nov 02, 2018, 5:57 PM UTC

nwah1 wrote: post #48

danielvf wrote: post #28

If a satellite is in a very low orbit then any debris fall to earth quickly. Almost all cubesats have a orbital life of six to five years. The space station, in a normal low earth orbit, would hit the earth in around three years without reboosts. The higher you go, the more absolute volume there is, the slower the satellites there travel and the fewer satellites there are. So that leaves a band of mid-upper LEO satel…

Kessler syndrome isn't an issue now, but as more projects like SpaceX's starlink program go online, it could become one. Starlink's goal is to deploy many thousands of satelites.

Yeah, starlink is planning on putting 8,000 satellites in low LEO, and 4000 in high LEO. The low ones don’t matter but the high ones are certainly worth thinking about.

Re: Kessler Syndrome

#64

Post by stcredzero » Sat, Nov 03, 2018, 1:20 AM UTC

ogre_magi wrote: post #62

stcredzero wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How about a hundred BFR sized launchers? (Just scaling it up to nation-state/Bond villain levels, out of curiosity.)

That's enough debris to choke off LEO, but it wont stay up there for very long. You'd need to refresh the debris cloud every few decades. Edit to add: The easier and cheaper villainous way to deny spaceflight to someone is just to shoot missiles at their spacecraft.

The easier and cheaper villainous way to deny spaceflight to someone is just to shoot missiles at their spacecraft.

Missiles can be pretty expensive, and if you go far downscale on cost and capabilities, you'll need to recruit fanatics who are willing to get caught every time a missile is fired at a spacecraft.

On the other hand, if the fleet of BFRs grows in numbers, then 100 flights of a BFR might be pretty inexpensive for a military operation that affects all strategic theaters at once.

The chief advantage of missiles, would be the ability to not shoot down your own rockets.

Re: Kessler Syndrome

#65

Post by tomhoward » Sat, Nov 03, 2018, 12:18 PM UTC

ogre_magi wrote: post #54

zbentley wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> You have no idea what you're talking about. That's not necessary.

Sorry -- people having very badly informed opinions about spaceflight are a pet peeve. Apologies if I'm being rude. I'll stop commenting.

Don't stop making good comments! Just keep within the guidelines (avoid making personal swipes).

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html