SpaceX Launches 54 Starlink More Satellites, Lands Rocket in 100th Mission From Florida Pad (space.com) 59
SpaceX continues to expand its satellite-internet constellation with its 186th overall launch. From a report: SpaceX's 100th launch from Space Launch Complex 40 at Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station featured a set of 54 Starlink satellites, which launched to orbit on Thursday (Oct. 20) at 10:51 a.m. EDT (1451 GMT). "With the completion of today's launch, it marks SpaceX's 48th successful Falcon 9 mission of 2022," SpaceX Space Operations Engineer Siva Bharadvaj said during live commentary. This was the 10th flight overall for this particular Falcon 9. It's first stage touched down a little less than nine minutes later at sea on the SpaceX droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas. The satellites successfully deployed into low Earth orbit a little over 15 minutes after liftoff, according to SpaceX.
Re:SpaceX (Score:5, Insightful)
"..but now I realize what a douche Elon is, ..."
So was Isaac Newton.
So was Nikola Tesla.
So was Bobby Fischer.
So was Steve Jobs.
The list could go on. What these geniuses all have in common is they pretty much didn't care what other people thought of them. That's just bound to rub ordinary folk the wrong way, eventually.
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Steve Jobs was obsessed with what other people thought of him!
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Steve Jobs' favorite word was "no". Closely followed by "h*ll no", "over my dead body", and "you're fired!"
Re: SpaceX (Score:1)
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Steve Jobs was obsessed with what other people thought of him!
Careful - you are pissing off the Muskovites as they worship the smartest man ever born in their eyes. They would drink the lethal koolaid for him, so your opinion or mine does not matter.
I mean seriously comparing him as equivalent to Tesla and Newton?
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Duh! He's the co-founder of a company that invented the car and batteries, which calls itself Tesla! (sarcasm) Yeah, I'm not sure what's going on today around here. Must be one of those "Opposite Days". I though this community on average at least was already able to see through Musk's facade. But today a subset of the comment section is behaving like crypto/NFT bros?
Yah. If I were to take a guess, I would say that so many Musk fans are people without a firm grasp on physics, and perhaps even a lesser grasp on logistics.
And I'm pretty certain they have some strong escapist tendencies. People who think it is a good idea to permanently leave earth to live in caves, and never go outside without a spacesuit on and for some unknown purpose haven't done much risk/reward analysis.
Make no mistake, I would undertake a trip to Mars if I knew I was going to come back. A trip
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https://preview.redd.it/wmjmpx... [preview.redd.it]
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https://preview.redd.it/wmjmpx... [preview.redd.it]
Pretty much this. And here's a good link to the Common Sense Skeptic on Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]
Trigger alert - this guy uses facts and figures applied to Musk and his fans. And they aren't going to like them. One of the more interesting parts is that "The angry Astronaut, who just loves Musk, tries to debunk the Common Sens Skeptic's work - often using insults rather than much else.
Regardless, Musk's adoring hordes are quite welcome to believe every utterance he makes. But at that
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To me a lot of Musk's displayed expertise equals technobabble. That may be impressive to people that got their degree in physics and engineering from watching Star Trek. In those case, big words might instill a sense of awe and convince people that they're dealing with someone who must be knowing exactly what they're talking about without actually making an effort to understand it themselves based on the principles of logic and physics.
I started paying close
Re:SpaceX (Score:4, Insightful)
Genius is as genius does, friend. When you've created a fintech company, a car manufacturer, and a reusable space vehicle company, come on back and compare notes.
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Genius is as genius does, friend. When you've created a fintech company, a car manufacturer, and a reusable space vehicle company, come on back and compare notes.
It's true. Einstein Tesla, and Newton never did any of that.
In a real life world, Musk is comparable to Howard Hughes. Ufortunately, the god lik status of his worshippers is not good for a human. Musk is showing signs of it wearing on him, beginning to think he is a sort of god, and it is starting to make him a bit unstable.
Re:SpaceX (Score:5, Insightful)
He certainly doesn't sit in front of autocad but he IS chief engineer and not only by title. You just need to look at in-depth videos of him walking someone through the SpaceX facilities to recognize that he very much knows what he is talking about.
He also has a Bachelor of Arts degree in physics and a Bachelor of Science degree in economics.
You don't need to like him but he certainly isn't an idiot.
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You just need to look at in-depth videos of him walking someone through the SpaceX facilities to recognize that he very much knows what he is talking about.
I believe you, but can you link the best example of such a video?
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"a Bachelor of Science degree in economics"
This is the same degree from the same school as Donald Trump.
Elon's IQ (Score:5, Funny)
steve jobs and elon are not geniuses, maybe above average intelligence but certainly not geniuses.
you actually believe that elon musk sits there in front of autocad and designs systems? that he does the math or even knows what fundamental engineering is?
give me a break.
Elon Musk's IQ is estimated at 155. You could have looked this up before you posted.
(NB: Genius level starts at 140 to 145 depending on the criteria, about half of one percent of the population.)
I have to laugh at people who think that Elon isn't super smart or creative: "he just pays other people to do the thinking for him". They believe that other people come to Elon with good ideas, and he starts a business around the ones he likes. Anyone who manages a business knows that this viewpoint is totally realistic (rolls eyes).
Elon has himself stated that he gets lots of good ideas all the time, but doesn't have the time or energy to pursue them - that's basically the definition of a highly creative person.
Much of the snark thrown at Elon is because of his political positions and his political actions (such as the twitter purchase or supplying starlink to Ukraine).
You can disagree with his positions and actions, but to say that he isn't smart or creative is simply ignoring reality.
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"..but now I realize what a douche Elon is, ..."
So was Isaac Newton. So was Nikola Tesla. So was Bobby Fischer. So was Steve Jobs.
The list could go on. What these geniuses all have in common is they pretty much didn't care what other people thought of them. That's just bound to rub ordinary folk the wrong way, eventually.
Putting Musk i with the likes of Newton and Tesla is really amusing.
Can you tell us how Musk contributed anything like Newons laws of Gravitation and Newtonina Mechanics, or Say the alternating current discoveries of Tesla?
That you worship Musk as a god amoung men causes you to equate hime with people who's intelligence has changed the world.
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Wut? (Score:5, Insightful)
This news used to put a smile on my face, but now I realize what a douche Elon is, and you can already see the corporate machine at work here - more profits, more monopoly, management layer encapsulation, environmental pollution and other externalities, etc.
This is not a feel good story, and if you think this makes your future space dreams a reality, I have a few bridges to sell you.
Apropos of nothing, what about Elon Musk makes you say that he's a douche?
Two items come to mind, both political: he's purchasing Twitter and is a free speech absolutist, and he's said publicly that he's voting Republican from now on.
On voting Republican, he's stated publicly that his positions haven't changed, but that the Democrat policies have moved so far to the left that the center is now to the left of his positions, making it appear that he's on the right. To be fair, that argument has been made by others, with examples as the Democrat obsession with enabling transgenderism in grade school and labeling half the country as semi-facist.
On free speech, lots of people are up in arms because they feel that only correct speech should be allowed and they know what the correct speech should be. There have been several recent glaring mistakes made by that crowd, which indicates that maybe absolute free speech is the better rule. The current big issue is Hunter Biden's laptop, which was suppressed as "fake news" during the last election, and is shown to be completely legitimate.
Both of these are political positions, you can agree or disagree with either of them and neither of them makes Elon Musk a douche. On neither count is his position fringe or baseless.
Elon is almost single-handedly taking us out of the gasoline age and into the clean energy age. His electric vehicles should reduce our carbon footprint by several tens of percent, and that alone should merit some consideration from the left. Ford is the only realistic competitor and is several years behind Tesla in vehicle development.
Elon also gave Ukraine internet access with starlink and is footing the bill, and offered a solution to the war. His proposed solution was violently opposed, but it was still offered in reasonably good faith.
Disagreeing with someone's positions is one thing, but I don't see any evidence that he's a douche.
Has he done something that we haven't heard about that should change our minds?
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I'm not the one you're responding to, but you're way overthinking this.
Elon Musk is proof that you can have all the money you could ever hope for, and it still won't help you remember to leave the Twitterverse alone when you're stoned and doing the rambling philosophy man schtick. And he says some very out-there things, in amongst the financial manipulation that he's either lucked out on thus far, or actually is totally unaware of when he does it. Based on dogecoin trends, I'd say it's the former, rather th
Re:Wut? (Score:4, Interesting)
I do think that, unlike even 2 years ago, his "persona" is really harming his business interests, particularly by offending potential Tesla customers.
With the dogecoin manipulation maybe it was 4d chess. But can you look at his bungled acquisition of Twitter and say it went well?
Or take Starlink in Ukraine. If he'd sold it to them for money (perhaps money from the US DoD) in the first place like every other defense contractor it would have been fine. But he did a grand gesture and gifted it to them. Then later he said something that was either a demand for payment or a threat to withdraw it depending on who you ask. Then finally a capitulation. Now he has the worst of all worlds - still giving it away for free, yet not seen as a real ally, and having caved.
I'm starting to think he has crossed the line from crazy like a fox to just crazy.
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Alternative: He was always crazy, he's just let the handlers fall to the background as he grew more confident in his insanity.
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i dont care for his twitter purchase or whatever goes on on twitter.
twitter is not a real place.
i also dont care for his politics, as im neither D nor R, both are inept and clueless.
what i can tell you is that you cant name a single engineer from 110K Tesla employees, or out of 12K SpaceX employees. all you see is elon, like that guy parading on stage in jeans and a turtle neck, all me, all the time. look how great this phone is - i made it! go buy it, its cool.
if you think Elon is great you must have worke
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This news used to put a smile on my face, but now I realize what a douche Elon is, and you can already see the corporate machine at work here - more profits, more monopoly, management layer encapsulation, environmental pollution and other externalities, etc.
This is not a feel good story, and if you think this makes your future space dreams a reality, I have a few bridges to sell you.
Apropos of nothing, what about Elon Musk makes you say that he's a douche?
Two items come to mind, both political: he's purchasing Twitter and is a free speech absolutist, and he's said publicly that he's voting Republican from now on.
I don't know about him, but I don't have a particular issue with Musk the person. He's just another human with all the pecadillos the rest of us have.
But his worshipping fans are not my cup of tea. I don't care who he voted for, I don't care that he is now a member of the party of Trump, Lauren Boebert, and Marjorie Taylor Greene, If that is what he wants representing the USA, then he can vote away. One cannot have Democrat ideals and be a member of the Present day Republican party though, so his ideology
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Two items come to mind, both political: he's purchasing Twitter and is a free speech absolutist,
I forgot to add. In no way shape or form is Musk a free speech absolutist. He regularly blocks people https://www.independent.co.uk/... [independent.co.uk] https://www.eurasiareview.com/... [eurasiareview.com] https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com] https://twitter.com/sandibacho... [twitter.com] https://braveneweurope.com/rob... [braveneweurope.com]
Will you check out the links? Absolutism means something, and Musk blocks anyone he disagrees with. That's the versiojn of free speech that says "I can say anything I damn well please - that's my free speech" And you are infringing my fr
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I don't agree that blocking people you don't want to hear is the same as denying them any sort of freedom of speech. I don't think even a free speech absolutist would think that meant you are forced to listen to everyone. You can have your Ted-X talk on the corner of 5th and Main, but I'm not obligated to come listen to it. Now if he buys Twitter or some other platform and starts kicking people off, then yes, THAT I would agree would be hypocritical.
If you are an absolutist, there is no such thing as blocking or any infringement at all
I'm not accusing him of being a hypocrite, he is merely following the ways of his kind. In fact, his kind, who are constantly bellowing about their free speech being infringed, and their so called "free speech social media outlets", like Parler, and Truth, are very quick to squash any dissenting opinions.
It is their version of free speech - "I can post anything that I wish - you cannot react" That is free speech.
No
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Re:Wut? (Score:4, Informative)
Apropos of nothing, what about Elon Musk makes you say that he's a douche?
I'm not the person you're replying to, but off the top of my head, the whole "pedo guy" incident comes to mind. Or coming up with a Ukraine "peace plan" that involves capitulation to nuclear blackmail and appeasement of a warmongering dictatorial cunt. Or defrauding investors with the whole "gonna take Tesla private with 'funding secured' - whoops funding isn't secure and now I'm under SEC investigation" thing. Or publicly deriding trans issues, when he has a trans child that has basically disowned him and wants to change their name to have no links to him anymore, and his response was "you can't win them all."
I'm sure there are other examples, but that should be sufficient to prove the charges of being a douche.
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On voting Republican, he's stated publicly that his positions haven't changed, but that the Democrat policies have moved so far to the left that the center is now to the left of his positions, making it appear that he's on the right.
Yeah, that always made zero sense to me. The Democrats have moved to the left, while the Republicans have moved to the right. If his positions haven't changed, then both parties are now farther away from his, but the Democrats should still be closer unless his positions have changed.
Either way, the right answer should be voting for third parties, trying to change the party through creating a "Return to Center PAC" that favors centrist candidates, running for office, trying to create a third party, etc., n
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Or, it's just vaguely possible that the Left has moved farther to the left than the Right has moved to the right...
No particular opinion, myself. As long as he keeps SpaceX operational and developing better spacecraft. 100 Falcon flights this year, so far, and not d
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Or, it's just vaguely possible that the Left has moved farther to the left than the Right has moved to the right...
Ah, but the left's leadership hasn't moved much at all, while the right's leadership has swung so far to the right that it is unrecognizable. So assuming you judge a party based on who is at the helm, the right has swung much, much farther to the right than the left has swung to the left, and the right has shown only minimal evidence of any sort of course correction so far, so I have little faith in that changing.
The left in the U.S. is mostly led by moderates, even if some of its loudest, most obnoxious v
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no you didn't
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54 Starlink More Satellites? (Score:2, Funny)
54 Starlink More Satellites? Are these like upgraded satellites with better features/speed/capacity, or are they just a sign of downgraded websites with no real editors?
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I was thinking the same thing, but posting about grammatical errors on the Internet is a losing battle...
Info on Star Link Bandwidth and Distribution (Score:2)
Space X launches are becoming "so yesterday", even though they are full of awesomeness.
At this point "competitors" are actually playing a different game, Space X is just doing it's thing moving a crap ton of stuff into orbit.
But the launch piqued my interest in the Star Link capabilities. For anyone interested, here's an almost eye-poppingly amount of information about satellite bandwidth and coverage, focusing on rural.
http://www.satmagazine.com/sto... [satmagazine.com]
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Space X launches are becoming "so yesterday", even though they are full of awesomeness.
At this point "competitors" are actually playing a different game, Space X is just doing it's thing moving a crap ton of stuff into orbit.
But the launch piqued my interest in the Star Link capabilities. For anyone interested, here's an almost eye-poppingly amount of information about satellite bandwidth and coverage, focusing on rural.
http://www.satmagazine.com/sto... [satmagazine.com]
One of the interesting things is that are there enough people in the rural areas to support the huge expenses? Cellular towers are going up in some pretty small hamlets where I am, and 5g is being promoted for home network access.
If I were a Telco, and I saw an area where There were a lot of Starlink Customers, I'd have a couple towers up ASAP.
Competition, terrestrial towers, versus a lot of rocket launches. Eventually the reason for picking Starlink will be loyalty to Elon.
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Good points. I think there's enough demand for widespread 5G and Star Link.
And Star Link is effectively a "global standard". Portable Star Link (boats, cars, RVs, planes) and very rural (globally) is also a rather large market.
Interesting stuff, nice to have such a reliable way to space...
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But Starlink will also end up putting a cap on terrestrial rollouts because it puts a ceiling of only about $110 on how much anybody will be willing to pay. A small multiple of $110/mo simply isn't enough money to construct and maintain a cell tower in the middle of nowhere.
I'm not certain you are catching my drift.
In PA where I live, there are cellular towers in some pretty remote villages. Like with maybe 300 people.
When I get to the places where there is no cellular service, there is only a few camps, no one living there, So the question is - can Starlink make a profit on And here's the fun part - You obey Musk, or he just might yank your Starlink https://nypost.com/2022/10/14/... [nypost.com]
This after he advised Ukraine to capitulate to Musk's new buddy Putin. I've had a fe
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Has the SLS already lifted off the earth? (Score:2)
And lifting it off the launch platform with a crane to put it back in the hangar doesn't count.