A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, carrying the Arabsat 6A communications satellite, lifts off from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, April 11, 2019. Thom Baur/Reuters
Seeking Alpha: SpaceX's Starlink Satellites Are Getting On China's Nerves
Summary:
* SpaceX's Starlink promises to be the world's largest satellite internet constellation, with 12,000 satellites in low earth orbit all told.
* Despite having less than 2,000 satellites in orbit presently, Starlink has already proven to be a nuisance for others involved in space exploration and space economy.
* China's new space station has had two near-misses with Starlink satellites this year, leading the Chinese government to complain to the United Nations.
* Starlink is the linchpin of SpaceX's future profitability, underpinning the private firm's $100 billion valuation.
* In addition to the vast cost of, and questionable demand for, Starlink weighing on SpaceX's future, the company must also contend with mounting political and diplomatic risk.
In the span of less than two decades, Space Exploration Technologies (SPACE) has grown from a niche rocket startup into a key leader of the American aerospace industry.
In the process, SpaceX (as the company is more widely known) has solidified its status as a pioneer of 21st century spaceflight, while its founder and boss, Elon Musk, has risen to become the face of the emerging space economy.
Read more ....
WNU Editor: Glenn Reynolds is onto something .... I think China just figured out that, without even trying, Elon Musk has become the dominant military power in space, with thousands of satellites that can be steered to collide with anything else in low earth orbit (link here).
9 comments:
Elon Musk.... Bond villain... 🙈
Elon is what Elon has always been. A charlatan.
I am not a fan of the guy, but how is he a charlatan?
Is PayPal fake?
Tesla's drive. Battery replacement cost is hell and I do not think the car is worth the price, but it is the mode of the day. It is what all the left leaning politicians and 10% or 40% of the population wants. Some of them are liars or brainwashed, but it is the mode of the day. It is the green religion.
Space X might have been a sweetheart deal. But there were plenty of other billionaires that could have put their toe in the water other than for space tourism.
God or Bad, Space X is definitely better than the Obama plan to pay the Russians to launch our astronauts to the ISS and kill the space shuttle program or the Bill Clinton plan to give missile tech to the CCP to shave a few dollars off space launches in the short term.
Billionaires are like flag officers. They prosper or suffer at the whim of politicians and vicissitudes of politics.
Unlike Solyndra of Obama fame, Elon produces tangible product that is useful. You can argue maybe that it is overpriced or that the bidding is rigged, but you would have to prove it.
Why do you suspect Elon Musk is a "charlatan?" Actually I think there's a method to this. The US switched to relying heavily on private industry for it's space program about 10 years ago or so. In contrast, Russia and China appear to be relying heavily on government programs for their space programs.
Time will tell which model is best and frankly Elon Musk and SpaceX are thus far doing much better than I expected!! I think this is a very good thing!!
If the US is to be a major world power, a viable space program is going to be vital. I hope and pray we are on the right track.
An extremely daft alarmist article that serves no purpose.
"China has a trade surplus, $3.2 trillion in reserves, and a 40% savings rate. It is an exporter, not an importer of capital. American capital markets are a convenience, not a necessity for Chinese companies." - Goldman
Losing every race
But Feinstein and Pelosi made out. That is all that counts.
So you guess telling me the same government that for years lied us into wars and misery and has created everyone from Zuckerberg to Bezos empire, you now say "right that Elon musk guy who lays the foundation to enslave mankind, he's actually good and decent and he made it to the absolute top without the government and he's now space force"
Lol
They're different flavours of controlled opposition but they all want to chip and control you like cattle
Maybe I'm wrong,..
The government did not create Zuckerberg.
15 years ago a troll like you would not be claiming that the government created Zuckerberg.
Spacex is doing better than most if not all gov launchers. He is still the richest man in the world. It might be play money but it's more anyone here will EVER make.
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