Posted on 08/28/2021 8:24:21 AM PDT by fireman15
BTW, thank you for your informative response. :)
There is a link to this from the article. I wonder if women will be the buyers of this er.... rocket?
Celebrate Jeff Bezos’ big day out to space with a $69 miniature dick rocket
https://www.theverge.com/tldr/2021/8/26/22642560/blue-origins-new-shephard-model-rocket-estes
SpaceX Starlink Internet- 6 Month Update
There are literally hundreds of YouTube videos from actual users, who simply love Starlink.
Oh please! As probably the leading SpaceX expert on the forum you are well aware of exactly what is being discussed. The failure rate of satellites launched into orbit by SpaceX for Starlink was initially approximately 5% then dropped to 3% and around 2.5%. The problem is that with the number of satellites now in the constellation and those planned this represents approximately 1000 additional satellites that will be in orbit with no control and unable to deorbit themselves. When you add this to the approximately 3000 other satellites in orbit who no longer can be controlled this is starting to become a big problem. And when these uncontrollable satellites inevitably collide it will lead to even more debris.
As you are well aware Starlink satelites weigh approximately 500 pounds and orbit the earth approximately every 90 minutes which means that they are traveling at approximately 17,000 mph or 20 to 25 times faster than a bullet as it exits a 45 caliber hand gun. 500 pounds at that speed represents an unbelievably destructive amount of kinetic energy.
Fortunately when these things are able to be deorbited the friction created by traveling through the atmosphere causes all but the biggest chunks to burn up and mostly cause little to no damage.
My pleasure, the real experts on SpaceX and Starlink here are SmokingJoe and others, but they occasionally let their impulse toward advocacy overwhelm their ability to recognize serious issues that may cause problems in the future. And I know from experience that they are willing to argue endlessly if you express any concern at all.
The vast majority of debris orbiting the earth at many thousands of miles per hour was put their by man. While belittled by many, objects like malfunctioning Starlink satellites which cannot be controlled or retrieved weighing approximately 500 pounds and traveling around 17,000 mph would cause massive destruction to anything that they slam into be it other satellites, Jeff Bezos and buddies going for a joy ride or more serious space endeavors. The saving grace would be that anyone in a craft hit by such an object would likely not see it coming and would be killed instantly.
Of course even tiny objects traveling at high speed have the potential to cause massive failures in the vacuum of space.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.