3 ms·

Dude out of curiosity who are you and how can I learn all the things you know.

dylan604 7y ago
I knew a guy that was part of the beginnings of the cable frontier running numerous cable headends. Any time he needs to align a new dish, he does it by hand. He knows where a specific satellite is, and a particular signal coming from it. Once he finds it, he pans the dish across the line of satellites until he gets to the one needed. As you pan across the sky, you can use a scope to see each of the birds come in and out of alignment. The constellations are known, so you map out which ones are which. Some of the signals are scrambled, but there's a lot to be learned, and if it is TV broadcast, decoders are available. A lot of this gear is available second/third/fourth hand now. With the right gear, it is possible to learn a lot of this stuff on your own with some google searches. Learning to decode what's already coming down is just a step on the way to learning about what goes up. Useless satellite trivia: from time to time, it becomes necessary to adjust the orbit of the satellites (like a wandering disabled satellite). They do not fire boosters to raise/lower the orbit directly as that requires too much fuel. Instead, they speed up/slow down the horizontal speed to increase/decrease altitude. With enough notice, they can do this very incrementally and fuel efficiently.
- JshWright 7y ago
  The necessary equipment is also crazy cheap at this point. You could easily start listening to satellites with a $20 USB SDR dongle and a DIY antenna. If someone wants a cheap way to learn orbital mechanics (like why you accelerate/decelerate to raise/lower your orbit), pick up a copy of Kerbal Space Program.
panzagl 7y ago
Space Force is accepting enlistments and commissions.
JshWright 7y ago
I'm not the person you're replying to, but my answer would be "stay curious, and don't be afraid to follow that curiosity down a lot of rabbit holes".

I knew a guy that was part of the beginnings of the cable frontier running numerous cable headends. Any time he needs to align a new dish, he does it by hand. He knows where a specific satellite is, and a particular signal coming from it. Once he finds it, he pans the dish across the line of satellites until he gets to the one needed. As you pan across the sky, you can use a scope to see each of the birds come in and out of alignment. The constellations are known, so you map out which ones are which. Some of the signals are scrambled, but there's a lot to be learned, and if it is TV broadcast, decoders are available. A lot of this gear is available second/third/fourth hand now. With the right gear, it is possible to learn a lot of this stuff on your own with some google searches. Learning to decode what's already coming down is just a step on the way to learning about what goes up. Useless satellite trivia: from time to time, it becomes necessary to adjust the orbit of the satellites (like a wandering disabled satellite). They do not fire boosters to raise/lower the orbit directly as that requires too much fuel. Instead, they speed up/slow down the horizontal speed to increase/decrease altitude. With enough notice, they can do this very incrementally and fuel efficiently.

JshWright 7y ago
The necessary equipment is also crazy cheap at this point. You could easily start listening to satellites with a $20 USB SDR dongle and a DIY antenna. If someone wants a cheap way to learn orbital mechanics (like why you accelerate/decelerate to raise/lower your orbit), pick up a copy of Kerbal Space Program.

panzagl 7y ago

Space Force is accepting enlistments and commissions.

JshWright 7y ago

I'm not the person you're replying to, but my answer would be "stay curious, and don't be afraid to follow that curiosity down a lot of rabbit holes".