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Good article, ones like these need to become the canonical reviews. Lots of stuff for the Starlink engineers to be embarrassed about. But the real embarrassmen

Good article, ones like these need to become the canonical reviews. Lots of stuff for the Starlink engineers to be embarrassed about. But the real embarrassment is the satellites. They should been covered in an antireflective coating, the kind you can get for $20 at any hardware store. But the engineers didn't bother, even though they knew about Iridium flares: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satellite_flare https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satellite_flare Why would they make such a simple, obvious mistake? Let's look at some options: A) They didn't know (casts doubt on the competence of the engineers and the adequacy of their engineering process) B) They couldn't solve it (I just did, this is a red herring) C) They didn't care (casts doubt on their relationship with science, environmentalists and members of the public who don't want to see satellites when they look at the stars) D) They wanted people to see the satellites in the sky as free advertising (ding ding) Corporate greed runs the show now. And other countries will copy this bad behavior because once again, a US corporation didn't lead by setting a good example. If we want to see real change in the world, we need to start by NOT supporting bad actors. Don't buy Starlink. Tell your friends why.

zackmorris 5y ago
With the recent loss of the 40 SpaceX satellites due to the solar storm, I'm thinking now that I may have written my comment in haste. I grew up in a region with exceptionally low light pollution, staring at the stars and Milky Way in awe, and feel great sorrow for people who don't get to see them. The idea that there will always be a satellite glaring somewhere in the sky now, diminishing that sense of natural wonder, is one of the great tragedies of the modern world IMHO. But I'm not going to sit here and tell people what to buy. Starlink has great tech, and I do want everyone in the world to have affordable internet access. It's up to each of us to do our own research and vote with our dollars for products that are sustainable, equitable, etc. I think we all want to do better and fix our mistakes, rather than live in the shame of any dishonorable behavior we may have had in the past.

zackmorris 5y ago

With the recent loss of the 40 SpaceX satellites due to the solar storm, I'm thinking now that I may have written my comment in haste. I grew up in a region with exceptionally low light pollution, staring at the stars and Milky Way in awe, and feel great sorrow for people who don't get to see them. The idea that there will always be a satellite glaring somewhere in the sky now, diminishing that sense of natural wonder, is one of the great tragedies of the modern world IMHO. But I'm not going to sit here and tell people what to buy. Starlink has great tech, and I do want everyone in the world to have affordable internet access. It's up to each of us to do our own research and vote with our dollars for products that are sustainable, equitable, etc. I think we all want to do better and fix our mistakes, rather than live in the shame of any dishonorable behavior we may have had in the past.