Submitted by jarvedttudd t3_zvvjh2 in space
Mmmblop69420 t1_j1tzye3 wrote
Reply to comment by Shawnj2 in Meet the amateur astronomer who found a lost NASA satellite by jarvedttudd
If I can play devils advocate, because I fucking love space and our 13.8Byo collective history lesson, buuuuut: when you say "least bad," that comes with the assumption that putting stuff in orbit for cheaps is a net-good thing.
Is it?
Shawnj2 t1_j1uzp9d wrote
Mostly. There are some downsides, like I increased emissions from more launches, a risk of Kessler syndrome happening (this is mostly overblown unless two satellites hit each other and even then that will just increase the price temporarily as less LEO orbits are available) but IMO things like Starlink/swarm are a net benefit for humanity (while Musk isn’t being a jackass and trying to stop Ukrainian people from using it) because it’s incredibly useful to people in rural areas who would otherwise never have good internet, and there’s other benefits like being able to restock the ISS/send new crew/send new scientific missions into space for cheaper, which means NASA and other space agencies can stretch their thin budgets a bit more. The biggest real downside is probably increased carbon emissions from more launches, which sucks but rockets are also an incredibly tiny contributor to global warming and the physics involved make it difficult to use non fossil fuel sources other than hydrogen produced from electrolysis, and also to a lesser extent mad astronomers since more satellites = less of the night sky being visible and more artificial star looking things they need to filter out.
Mmmblop69420 t1_j1wmuvx wrote
I agree with every point you make. They are logistical efficiencies. I guess my question was leaning more into why we need and want space colonialism to be cheap.
The star point for instance, where everyone in the world can eventually have cheap access to internet. Isn't that also giving data mining access to more low cost resources? I hate to be pessimistic, but I don't love how we're currently utilizing the power of internet.
If we can't handle our shit at home, why should we affordably be able to throw more trash into space? Hasn't the scarcity been somewhat of a blessing until now?
I dunno, thanks for letting me get that off my chest if anything.
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