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To: quantim
Either way we are going to pay for it, either higher Internet bills for usage or the feds finance this project and pile it on the enormous national debt.

Your view is more pessimistic than mine. I see lower Internet monthly bills as the largest cost of the servers(electrical energy) will be provided by the satellites themselves.

And both Tesla and Musk have vast amounts of capitol available. 100s of billions. The upcoming SpaceX IPO would raise even more 100s of billions. I don't see the need for any taxpayer involvement in these projects. (And Musk has repaid all of the money loaned to his companies by the government -- with interest).

7 posted on 01/31/2026 3:52:06 AM PST by Blennos (This is the official Blennos tagline. Thanks to Big Red Badger. )
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To: Blennos

Oops. “Capitol” in my last post should, of course, be “capital.”


9 posted on 01/31/2026 3:54:22 AM PST by Blennos (This is the official Blennos tagline. Thanks to Big Red Badger. )
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To: Blennos
Musk is richest man in history.
SpaceX is richest Space company and getting richer.
They don't need government subsidies for anything.
10 posted on 01/31/2026 3:56:03 AM PST by SmokingJoe
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To: Blennos
Elon's genius presents us with stunning upside possibilities and daunting downside potential risks.

Let's consider some downside questions: this concentration of compute in high orbit is invaluable for human progress but equally strategic for human capacity to make war and as such it poses perhaps an irresistible target to adversaries.

Spitballing well beyond my technical reach, it occurs that this target in the sky would be vulnerable to asymmetric warfare in which relatively cheap rockets could disable immensely expensive space farms. How are these obvious strategic targets to be defended? Could we possibly envision orbital golden drones protecting them?

Would they be protected by hunter killer satellites? Who would control them? Who would pay for them? Space X would want the taxpayers, read American taxpayers, to defend them with our Space Force. American taxpayers might insist that shareholders of Space X pay. Shareholders of SpaceX might insist that the ratepayers foot the bill for the defense of the system that services them.

Is the defense system to be multinational? Now the questions of command-and-control and financing immediately become far more complex.

Are we in to expect a multinational, global super agency to regulate these things? Should we look to the Atomic Energy Commission for guidance? Are we unintentionally going to birth another United Nations?


15 posted on 01/31/2026 4:08:01 AM PST by nathanbedford (Attack, repeat, attack! - Bull Halsey)
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