Post by @badgermurphy@lemmy.world

2026-10-28 19:43 UTC

Alternatively, we could reinstate NASA’s funding, and come up with an actually sane way to get Internet service to remote areas that doesn’t involve what is essentially “space littering”. Putting thousands of satellites into space for something that can be done way more practically on the ground makes every future thing you do in space harder, and severely hampers land-based astronomy. They have to track every nut and bolt in orbit for as long as they stay there, or one of those things will blow something to smithereens, even if it is small, like a literal nut or bolt. We’re letting private entities potentially trap our children here on Earth by failing to regulate and enforce what can be up there. If you envision a future with space colonies and exploration, SpaceX and Starlink are not how you get there. I’m sure its doing a great job letting yokels in the swamp watch foxnews.com though, so there’s that.

Replies (1)

@NotMyOldRedditName@lemmy.world 2026-10-28 22:05

We’ve tried to do it on the ground for decades to little success. We give them money, and they say, oh so sorry we spent it all and did 0.001% of the requirements. SpaceX and these other LEO constellations can do it in a few years, at their own risk. Also, these constellations serve areas that fiber will never serve. 5g towers maybe in many but not all, but never fiber. They also serve areas like the ocean, and air, some of which will never be served by 5g. edit: Also there’s no risk of trapping us on earth with something like Starlink. It’s too low and will resolve any mass destruction in a handful of short years. The risk comes with something like Eutelsat One Webs constellation at 1200km that will last millennia in a Kessler Syndome type doomsday scenario.

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