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Rocketlab acquires Iridium

investors.rocketlabcorp.com

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Re: Rocketlab acquires Iridium

#81

Post by swiftcoder »

ralfd wrote: post #76
TheJoeMan wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At present, I don't believe there are industry standards / codes mandating minimization of reflectivity. My understanding is that SpaceX has engineered for this from their own internal requirements and "goodness of their hearts" (which may be related to avoidance of public pushback). As we anticipate a major scale-up of LEO in the future, it follows that "cost pressures" may (mal)incentivize players to skip this conc…

> "goodness of their hearts" (which may be related to avoidance of public pushback) I hate this cynicism in everything. People didnt work there 10 years ago to be millionaires in a far away IPO, they worked there because they are Team Space.

Nonetheless, the company didn't start the whole non-reflective paint thing until well after the complaints started streaming in, significantly less than 10 years ago (DarkSat launched in 2020)

Re: Rocketlab acquires Iridium

#82

Post by nba456_ »

LunaSea wrote: post #70
nba456_ wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And who does the tax get paid to? Some mythical Global Government that will totally work this time?

Any company removing space debris from orbit. Like a carbon capture price to offset your launch.

What you're describing is a global government, otherwise that can't be enforced.

Re: Rocketlab acquires Iridium

#83

Post by nradov »

Centigonal wrote: post #48
proee wrote: post #41

We have a bright future full of endless "space-junk". As the price to orbit drops, people will inevitably send up more and more satellites that have questionable value. In 100 years will the sky at night just be a massive grid of dots moving across the sky? Who will create the first advertisement in space using satellites as pixels to create their company logo? Maybe they can add some color and animations for kicks.…

Hank Green did a video recently advocating for an "orbit value tax" -- like a Georgist Land Value Tax, but for orbits. This tax would, among other things, help fund orbital cleanup and internalize the externality of polluting orbital shells. It's an idea that deserves more discourse IMO. Here is the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLjW6zuYmos

Do you think Russia will be willing to pay a tax on their new Rassvet constellation?

Re: Rocketlab acquires Iridium

#84

Post by wuliwong »

stuxnet79 wrote: post #73
proee wrote: post #41

We have a bright future full of endless "space-junk". As the price to orbit drops, people will inevitably send up more and more satellites that have questionable value. In 100 years will the sky at night just be a massive grid of dots moving across the sky? Who will create the first advertisement in space using satellites as pixels to create their company logo? Maybe they can add some color and animations for kicks.…

On the positive side, clearing out all this space junk could end up being a meaningful contributor to global GDP. See also Planetes [1] [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planetes

Thanks for reminding me, I started watching this and forgot about it!

Re: Rocketlab acquires Iridium

#86

Post by steveBK123 »

nba456_ wrote: post #64
Centigonal wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hank Green did a video recently advocating for an "orbit value tax" -- like a Georgist Land Value Tax, but for orbits. This tax would, among other things, help fund orbital cleanup and internalize the externality of polluting orbital shells. It's an idea that deserves more discourse IMO. Here is the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLjW6zuYmos

And who does the tax get paid to? Some mythical Global Government that will totally work this time?

My new startup, SPECTRE.

It's a new SaaS play - Satellites As A Service. That is, your satellite gets to stay in orbit as long as you pay me.

Otherwise my satellite killer eats them.

Re: Rocketlab acquires Iridium

#88

Post by swiftcoder »

jqbd wrote: post #87
nba456_ wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What you're describing is a global government, otherwise that can't be enforced.

US can enforce US satellites, no?

Provided they are launched in the US, on a US-owned carrier? Most likely

Can't necessarily stop a multinational firing things to space on Russian/Chinese/ESA launch vehicles

Re: Rocketlab acquires Iridium

#89

Post by NDlurker »

nba456_ wrote: post #82
LunaSea wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Any company removing space debris from orbit. Like a carbon capture price to offset your launch.

What you're describing is a global government, otherwise that can't be enforced.

US could sanction countries/corporations/people who don't comply.

Re: Rocketlab acquires Iridium

#90

Post by rvnx »

jqbd wrote: post #87
nba456_ wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What you're describing is a global government, otherwise that can't be enforced.

US can enforce US satellites, no?

Maybe but if so, it would mean that US spontaneously would go against one of their main strategic interests for the planet ? Doesn't makes too much sense.

It's like this bicycle meme where the person puts a stick in its wheels.

It's for the same reason that petrol cars are encouraged in the US.

Punishing SpaceX will lead to a bigger financial crisis, an upset Elon Musk who might refuse to fund the next democratic election and dozens of thousands of lost jobs (fortunately they already became millionaire, riding the right rocket) for a problem that most of the rich population doesn't care about.

Because in the city, it's about your petrol car, big trucks, and nobody to see the stars and a bit more pollution doesn't change much at that scale from their eyes.

CFCs (these gazes destroying ozone) were a notable exception, because it would lead to death of everyone (the same way that petrol with lead), except death, universally there was no advantage to defend.

But a space filled with US satellites is a great advantage for the US, since they are the only ones with the capabilities to deploy thousands of them, and it's a big business for military intelligence.

I can imagine the main reason they are going to regulate, is so that older satellite debris don't destroy the new shiny satellites, but beauty of the sky is going to be the very least important factor.

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