4 ms·

I assume you've been keeping track of how much JWST has cost before launch. Launch is not even close to the dominating cost for a serious telescope.

toomuchtodo 7y ago
> I assume you've been keeping track of how much JWST has cost before launch. Yes. > Launch is not even close to the dominating cost for a serious telescope. Even more reason to move observation off planet. Why are we not commoditizing observation platforms? Planet Labs, inexpensively images the entire earth daily, with satellites the size of shoeboxes [1]. [1] https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonmarkman/2018/05/28/this-maker-of-tiny-satellites-is-disrupting-the-space-industrial-complex/#3af1e90b486c https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonmarkman/2018/05/28/this-make...
- verytrivial 7y ago
  The edge of observational science is the sensor and the satellite is built to support that. Radically different sensors have radically different engineering requirements. And to an extent, there is already a bunch of re-use between missions for the bus, power, control etc. But casually comparing a 10x10cm cube sat sensor to something literally over 3,000 the area feeding to a cryogenically cooled sensor to somehow argue in favour of SpaceX's current deployments is ... hard to reason with.
  - toomuchtodo 7y ago
    I am casually stating that it's time for observation science and engineering to evolve. StarLink isn't the only obstacle to earth based observation; siting requirements can constrain where observatories can be built, staff and equipment having to be colocated (sometimes in remote geographic locations), relations with local stakeholders can be fraught with peril [1], all avoided by lifting to space. Will it be challenging to design observatories for space that were previously designed to be built on Earth? Certainly! Should we shy away from the challenge as an advancing civilization? Absolutely not. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirty_Meter_Telescope#Approval_process_and_protests https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirty_Meter_Telescope#Approva...
valuearb 7y ago
JWST would have been a lot cheaper if they had known they could use heavier and cheaper materials when it was designed.

toomuchtodo 7y ago

> I assume you've been keeping track of how much JWST has cost before launch. Yes. > Launch is not even close to the dominating cost for a serious telescope. Even more reason to move observation off planet. Why are we not commoditizing observation platforms? Planet Labs, inexpensively images the entire earth daily, with satellites the size of shoeboxes [1]. [1] https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonmarkman/2018/05/28/this-maker-of-tiny-satellites-is-disrupting-the-space-industrial-complex/#3af1e90b486c https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonmarkman/2018/05/28/this-make...

verytrivial 7y ago
The edge of observational science is the sensor and the satellite is built to support that. Radically different sensors have radically different engineering requirements. And to an extent, there is already a bunch of re-use between missions for the bus, power, control etc. But casually comparing a 10x10cm cube sat sensor to something literally over 3,000 the area feeding to a cryogenically cooled sensor to somehow argue in favour of SpaceX's current deployments is ... hard to reason with.
- toomuchtodo 7y ago
  I am casually stating that it's time for observation science and engineering to evolve. StarLink isn't the only obstacle to earth based observation; siting requirements can constrain where observatories can be built, staff and equipment having to be colocated (sometimes in remote geographic locations), relations with local stakeholders can be fraught with peril [1], all avoided by lifting to space. Will it be challenging to design observatories for space that were previously designed to be built on Earth? Certainly! Should we shy away from the challenge as an advancing civilization? Absolutely not. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirty_Meter_Telescope#Approval_process_and_protests https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirty_Meter_Telescope#Approva...

valuearb 7y ago

JWST would have been a lot cheaper if they had known they could use heavier and cheaper materials when it was designed.