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Starshield: Secured satellite network for government entities

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Re: Starshield: Secured satellite network for government entities

#91

Post by shostack »

rzimmerman wrote: post #68

It sounds like they’re trying to sell two things: 1. Hosted payloads, where DoD entities pay to have something (telescope, Sigint equipment, whatever) strapped on to a starlink satellite with comms all figured out for them. Probably a good deal if your stuff fits on that big flat satellite. SpaceX starlink launches do sway the launch market significantly enough (offering a launch at half othe price or less, beholden…

Makes you wonder, given the sensitivity of this, how the government feels about having Elon at the helm of it given some of his business ties.

Re: Starshield: Secured satellite network for government entities

#92

Post by bagels »

Ancalagon wrote: post #79
rlt wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Kessler Syndrome notwithstanding.

Such low orbits should prevent that being a long term problem. I also wonder how much more difficult it is to target satellites going this fast than say the one China destroyed a few years ago?

If the thing China shot was on orbit, there isn't much difference in orbital velocity vs other objects. If it's below ~7.8km/s it's suborbital, and if it's above 11km/s it's on escape trajectory.

Re: Starshield: Secured satellite network for government entities

#93

Post by wmf »

t-3 wrote: post #78
wmf wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think there's a consensus that orbital weapons are bad.

Weapons are bad in general. The military, however, takes a practical view rather than a moral one, and will not limit themselves based on what is good and bad, but will arm themselves based on what is effective. This is why we can't have nice things.

I was thinking more like game theoretically bad.

Re: Starshield: Secured satellite network for government entities

#94

Post by ck2 »

poszlem wrote: post #6

One thing that people miss is the fact that in the event of any type of a "big" war between superpowers satellites are going to be heavily affected and probably one of the first targets. Having something like this, having that kind of speed in deploying new satellites is going to be a superpower to the USA.

Any "big" war between superpowers is going to be over in a day because it's sheer utter hubris to imagine surviving with any quality of life afterwards.

Sure the the elites will have their billion dollar bunkers but the modern life is over otherwise. Pandemic was a model of 1% of what fallout would be like.

It seems warmongers have found an end-run around that though, proxy wars like Ukraine which is horrifying.

Re: Starshield: Secured satellite network for government entities

#95

Post by p1mrx »

Ancalagon wrote: post #79
rlt wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Kessler Syndrome notwithstanding.

Such low orbits should prevent that being a long term problem. I also wonder how much more difficult it is to target satellites going this fast than say the one China destroyed a few years ago?

> Such low orbits should prevent that being a long term problem.

Wouldn't a military power be more willing to trigger Kessler syndrome for 5 years than 500?

Re: Starshield: Secured satellite network for government entities

#97

Post by TOMDM »

rzimmerman wrote: post #68

It sounds like they’re trying to sell two things: 1. Hosted payloads, where DoD entities pay to have something (telescope, Sigint equipment, whatever) strapped on to a starlink satellite with comms all figured out for them. Probably a good deal if your stuff fits on that big flat satellite. SpaceX starlink launches do sway the launch market significantly enough (offering a launch at half othe price or less, beholden…

Also the more the government is bought into Starlink, the larger the pressure is to sideline regulatory problems.

Re: Starshield: Secured satellite network for government entities

#99

Post by rl3 »

shostack wrote: post #91
rzimmerman wrote: post #68

It sounds like they’re trying to sell two things: 1. Hosted payloads, where DoD entities pay to have something (telescope, Sigint equipment, whatever) strapped on to a starlink satellite with comms all figured out for them. Probably a good deal if your stuff fits on that big flat satellite. SpaceX starlink launches do sway the launch market significantly enough (offering a launch at half othe price or less, beholden…

Makes you wonder, given the sensitivity of this, how the government feels about having Elon at the helm of it given some of his business ties.

Or in light of his recent behavior that could charitably be interpreted as slightly unstable.

But hey, the government somehow survived our last President and that was a far greater risk in just about every way:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump%27s_disclosures_o...

Re: Starshield: Secured satellite network for government entities

#100

Post by t-3 »

wmf wrote: post #93
t-3 wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Weapons are bad in general. The military, however, takes a practical view rather than a moral one, and will not limit themselves based on what is good and bad, but will arm themselves based on what is effective. This is why we can't have nice things.

I was thinking more like game theoretically bad.

They may be bad in some game theory way, I don't know the argument, but large groups of humans are very much not rational actors. The tendency is to oppose the enemy rather than to maximize gains or minimize losses.
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