based on large scale space travel soon becoming a thing
Of all the stupid business plans… I really do not understand this. Who the fuck wants to go to “space”? There’s nothing there. literally no there there. Elon Musk has not even been “there”. Has a single person ever gone twice in a recreational capacity?
More fun to go to IMAX or roller coaster.
and everyone getting their internet from starlink
My understanding is that from a technical perspective this is implausible but at least it kind of makes sense as a desire. A powerful wfi router in the sky.
Even if it were technically plausible, the telecom monopolies being as they are, it would be a long slow row to hoe displacing them.
Of all the stupid business plans… I really do not understand this. Who the fuck wants to go to “space”?
Mars bases and colonization is what Musk tries to sell. Similarly asteroid mining, data centers and factories in space, and massively increased rollout of satellites. All of these are stupid because they all rely on massively over-inflating the upsides and really thoroughly underestimating the costs and expenses of doing things in space, even if we could theoretically put some of these things up there. The only plausible part of the plan that makes sense is increased demand for satellites, but that includes a lot of double-dealing, since Starlink is going to be a supposed driver of that.
and everyone getting their internet from starlink
Similarly I don’t think it is theoretically impossible. I have not looked at the numbers or how much of the electromagnetic spectrum that that would require with current technology, nor have I seen anyone else try to address it. But my feeling is that this is unlikely to work at that scale and would be prohibitively expensive to keep such a large covering of satellites in low earth orbit, aside from other issues like making ground based astronomy impossible and risk of space debris. I think this is the same thing as everything else, of just really trying to low ball and ignore the actual costs and just rely on the idea of “Musk launches a few more satellites and everyone can just get internet everywhere and we don’t have to maintain all of this pesky ground based infrastructure like wires and fiber”
I heard on a podcast recently that universal Starlink implausible due to limits on how much radio frequencies are available. That all the signals required to really saturate a geographic area with lots of users would create too much noise and conflicts. (That’s how I understood it, do not quote me!)
That was what I was referring to with the electromagnetic spectrum. That is likely the case, but theoretically if they could get other parts of the spectrum reallocated and higher frequency transmissions. It might be theoretically possible in the abstract.
I just wish that the billionaires lining up to shoot themselves into space on shoddily constructed hardware could find a less ecologically devastating way to do it, like maybe a really damn big trebuchet.
Sure some people would go if available “too see”. But then you go for 60 mins have your fun bouncing around. And?
The most popular kind of general travel destinations (as in you go to a specific facility and pretty much stay there) as far as ive seen are “resorts”. People like them because favorable exchange rate allows them the exploit workers and resources above their usual status. You go and have an inclusive package you dont need to worry about. Just eat, get drunk, sit in the sun, have sex, hang with friends, dance, read, swim, read, enjoy the view… Servants clean up and cater to your needs and all local people are generally expected to be submissive and accomidating. It requires massive labor to create, maintain and staff these palaces.
As vacations go, bopping around in zero g has little appeal. Most people travel to escape their real life with something easy.
And idk not to be a spoil sport but it isn’t like you’re “being in science”. You are just as much experiencing science at ~1G everyday. All of life is science. Drop a rock on your toe: science.
Of all the stupid business plans… I really do not understand this. Who the fuck wants to go to “space”? There’s nothing there. literally no there there. Elon Musk has not even been “there”. Has a single person ever gone twice in a recreational capacity?
More fun to go to IMAX or roller coaster.
My understanding is that from a technical perspective this is implausible but at least it kind of makes sense as a desire. A powerful wfi router in the sky.
Even if it were technically plausible, the telecom monopolies being as they are, it would be a long slow row to hoe displacing them.
Mars bases and colonization is what Musk tries to sell. Similarly asteroid mining, data centers and factories in space, and massively increased rollout of satellites. All of these are stupid because they all rely on massively over-inflating the upsides and really thoroughly underestimating the costs and expenses of doing things in space, even if we could theoretically put some of these things up there. The only plausible part of the plan that makes sense is increased demand for satellites, but that includes a lot of double-dealing, since Starlink is going to be a supposed driver of that.
Similarly I don’t think it is theoretically impossible. I have not looked at the numbers or how much of the electromagnetic spectrum that that would require with current technology, nor have I seen anyone else try to address it. But my feeling is that this is unlikely to work at that scale and would be prohibitively expensive to keep such a large covering of satellites in low earth orbit, aside from other issues like making ground based astronomy impossible and risk of space debris. I think this is the same thing as everything else, of just really trying to low ball and ignore the actual costs and just rely on the idea of “Musk launches a few more satellites and everyone can just get internet everywhere and we don’t have to maintain all of this pesky ground based infrastructure like wires and fiber”
I heard on a podcast recently that universal Starlink implausible due to limits on how much radio frequencies are available. That all the signals required to really saturate a geographic area with lots of users would create too much noise and conflicts. (That’s how I understood it, do not quote me!)
That was what I was referring to with the electromagnetic spectrum. That is likely the case, but theoretically if they could get other parts of the spectrum reallocated and higher frequency transmissions. It might be theoretically possible in the abstract.
I just wish that the billionaires lining up to shoot themselves into space on shoddily constructed hardware could find a less ecologically devastating way to do it, like maybe a really damn big trebuchet.
I think it’s worth the hit to the atmosphere.
Ever since I was a kid I wanted to go to space. But only because I loved and still love science
Sure some people would go if available “too see”. But then you go for 60 mins have your fun bouncing around. And?
The most popular kind of general travel destinations (as in you go to a specific facility and pretty much stay there) as far as ive seen are “resorts”. People like them because favorable exchange rate allows them the exploit workers and resources above their usual status. You go and have an inclusive package you dont need to worry about. Just eat, get drunk, sit in the sun, have sex, hang with friends, dance, read, swim, read, enjoy the view… Servants clean up and cater to your needs and all local people are generally expected to be submissive and accomidating. It requires massive labor to create, maintain and staff these palaces.
As vacations go, bopping around in zero g has little appeal. Most people travel to escape their real life with something easy.
And idk not to be a spoil sport but it isn’t like you’re “being in science”. You are just as much experiencing science at ~1G everyday. All of life is science. Drop a rock on your toe: science.