Satellites

[AlaskaHunter]

I found this interesting from several perspectives.

There are approximately 8,000 satellites orbiting the earth, 84% are low orbiting earth satellites.
Since the first launch in 2019, 4,500 of 8,000 are owned by Elon Musk and Starlink.

SpaceX autonomous avoidance system maneuvers every time
a Starlink satellite encounters a situation with a 1 in 100,000 probability of a collision.

SpaceX's current constellation is less than 10% of what the company plans to deploy.
Within the next 10 years, the number of Starlink satellites in orbit may rise to 40,000.

As of May 2023, China had reportedly less than 500, Russia less than 200 satellites in orbit.
In terms of military satellites, the US has approximately 240, China 140, Russia 105.

There are 31 GPS satellites operated by the US.
24 of these are needed for the GPS constellation ensures users
can receive from least four satellites from virtually any location on the planet.

 

[vagabond]

Laying on my cot in Bass Camp, or National, or Deer Creek watching satellites and stars is a cool thing!

 

[buckbull]

Starlink is a game changer for rural living. I bought that for my hunting cabin. Now that both kids are living in apartments with 1 year leases instead of the dorms I'll be able to move there permanently. Planning a large garage/shop build right now. Finally sold the house I still owned with the exwife (divorced in 2015) this past Tuesday. I had some countdown tasks to do to support the artemis 1 launch this past November, right in the middle of prime Illinois deer season and did it from the hunting cabin. We only have to go into the office 1 day a week so it makes it possible for me to live a little further from work. I understand there are pros and cons to everything but for me it has and will have a tremendous effect on my quality of life.

 

[Redmt]

CA insurance companies are now using satellites to observe insured properties for insurance qualifications. I heard of one home owner being cancelled because of draining their pool. We were just last week renewing our insurance and the agent took a look at the recent satellite image to verify our defensible space requirements. Big brother is watching.

 

[geewhiz]

Star link is an incredible piece of technology but I fear that it will (and already has started to) completely decimate the rural economy.

 

[COEngineer]

Star link is an incredible piece of technology but I fear that it will (and already has started to) completely decimate the rural economy.

How so?

 

[COEngineer]

Light pollution from satellites is a thing. It used to be interesting to spot a satellite in the night sky, now you can't look up without seeing several of them.

 

[Redmt]

Satellite coverage would not be needed if the world was flat.

 

[Deleted member 18333]

Satellite coverage would not be needed if the world was flat.

What do you mean by if?

 

[buckbull]

Star link is an incredible piece of technology but I fear that it will (and already has started to) completely decimate the rural economy.

How so?

Maybe i'm in the minority but it allows me to get from the suburbs to the country. I would think this would open the doors to rural living for folks who can work from home.

 

[geewhiz]

Maybe i'm in the minority but it allows me to get from the suburbs to the country. I would think this would open the doors to rural living for folks who can work from home.

And that is my concern. It allows you to get from the suburbs to the country while still making big city money. Prior to this you had to make do with rural living wages to achieve the benefits of living in a rural setting. Drives up prices for the rest of us.

 

[Redmt]

We have silicon valley guys doing work up here for 35-50 bucks an hour for general ranch labor. The guys that were 20-25 bucks have raised they're rates. My opinion is that 25 bucks was a stretch. Now we can't get general help that is affordable.

 

[Benfromalbuquerque]

We have silicon valley guys doing work up here for 35-50 bucks an hour for general ranch labor. The guys that were 20-25 bucks have raised their rates. My opinion is that 25 bucks was a stretch. Now we can't get general help that is affordable.

Was there paid time off, healthcare, holidays and a 401k option? Employers got to be competitive nowadays.

 

[COEngineer]

We have silicon valley guys doing work up here for 35-50 bucks an hour for general ranch labor. The guys that were 20-25 bucks have raised they're rates. My opinion is that 25 bucks was a stretch. Now we can't get general help that is affordable.

Yea, that's a problem everywhere. 10+% inflation will do that. The feds printing money for the past 4 years has caught up with us.

 

[Gr8bawana]

What do you mean by if?

 

[Redmt]

Was there paid time off, healthcare, holidays and a 401k option? Employers got to be competitive nowadays.

We have a permanent retirement plan.

 

[Benfromalbuquerque]

We have a permanent retirement plan.

I’d think that and paid leave would be attractive at $25 if the employees aren’t 1099.

 

[ammo]

Just to note that number is operational satellites. Total tracked space objects is 25k+. Space-track.org is a good resource if you want to nerd out

 

[Beignet]

There was an article in the NYT about two weeks ago titled "Elon Musk's Unmatched Power in the Stars." A little tidbit that stuck out to me is that these satellites are designed to work for 3.5 years. After that they're just space trash.

​

 

[Chama Grande]

CA insurance companies are now using satellites to observe insured properties for insurance qualifications. I heard of one home owner being cancelled because of draining their pool. We were just last week renewing our insurance and the agent took a look at the recent satellite image to verify our defensible space requirements. Big brother is watching.

There's a lot we can do. With a few satellite images and a local weather station I can calculate how much water is being used on any irrigated field.

I can also tell which waterholes are full in my hunt units