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This is not "just to keep astronomers happy", because the science gleaned from astronomy benefits all of us, and relying solely on space-based telescopes is far
by _djo_ 2y ago
This is not "just to keep astronomers happy", because the science gleaned from astronomy benefits all of us, and relying solely on space-based telescopes is far from feasible.
For things like the Square Kilometre Array it's simply impossible to place them in space using current technology, and satellite constellations that leak too much unnecessary RF energy will destroy the investment we've made in them.
That also doesn't take into account things like space weather monitoring and forecasting, which also relies on highly sensitive distributed earth-based receivers.
Good regulation allows for both progress and an avoidance of a tragedy of the commons situation where unregulated satellites emit so much unnecessary RF energy that ground-based radio astronomy becomes impossible.
- InsomniacL 2y ago> it's simply impossible to place them in space I bet once it's no longer practicable to host them on Earth, hosting them in space will become possible. Sometimes, removing the easy option gets people solving problems they had no incentive to solve previously, and this can lead better outcomes. obviously other times that doesn't happen but I'm an optimist.
- _djo_ 2y agoNo, it'll just mean we get less astronomy done, because the cost of doing any sort of astronomy will be far more expensive and the opportunities much more limited. The SKA is already an enormously expensive project that took decades to create and is at the very edge of our signal processing capabilities even using the highest capacity fibre-optic data networks and supercomputers. Deploying the same type of array in space is decades away at current technology levels.