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Re:Starlink satellites hindering detection of near-Earth ast... by cute_boi on Friday January 21, 2022 @08:44AM (#30023341)
I think it is your privilege to give such opinion, however, I can see the various advantage of Starlink. Many ISP in the US simply refuse to provide proper bandwidth and people have to live with ISP shenanigans, Starlink has helped those people. Sometimes submarine cables are destroyed. We saw that in a recent disaster where a volcanic eruption was responsible for an internet blackout, Starlink would have been helpful there.

And to counter your same example, in India around 41% of people have access to the internet. I think the internet is a basic right, at least in this century, so we shouldn't deprive people of the internet. I do acknowledge that Starlink might be costly but something is better than nothing.

Re:Starlink satellites hindering detection of near-Earth ast... by rTX5CMRXIfFG on Friday January 21, 2022 @08:58AM (#30023513)
I mean, I don't think that your argument justifies why we should trade off near-earth asteroid monitoring with faster internet connections just so we can consume more Instagram and TikTok videos better.
Re:Starlink satellites hindering detection of near-Earth ast... by devoutsalsa on Friday January 21, 2022 @09:14AM (#30023721)
If scanning for near Earth asteroids was really a priority, there's nothing stopping us from building a detection network in space, above the altitude at which Starlink satellites fly.
Re:Starlink satellites hindering detection of near-Earth ast... by rTX5CMRXIfFG on Friday January 21, 2022 @09:32AM (#30023963)
Isn't it more the case that it is a priority precisely because we have our current methods for detecting near-earth asteroids, but we're letting capitalism get in the way and launch Starlink satellites in space to trade off the safety of our species for more profit that, honestly, isn't even necessary? I mean, of course you can argue that the survival of our species isn't necessary and is not more important than money, but if you believe that, you should state that plainly because that seems to be where we'll have an impasse.
Re:Starlink satellites hindering detection of near-Earth ast... by edgyquant on Friday January 21, 2022 @10:19AM (#30024666)
I don’t think detecting near earth asteroids has become impossible. Developing space infrastructure is just as important to our survival as detection.
Re:Starlink satellites hindering detection of near-Earth ast... by devoutsalsa on Friday January 21, 2022 @10:26AM (#30024785)
In my opinion... If we REALLY wanted to detect near Earth asteroids, we'd focus on space based telescopes. They are better in nearly every way, except for the raw size of the mirror. But we use ground based telescopes because they are cheaper. Capitalism has already prioritized lower science budgets for finding big rocky planet killers.
Re:Starlink satellites hindering detection of near-Earth ast... by gord288 on Friday January 21, 2022 @10:53AM (#30025225)
Okay so until such time as this higher-orbit asteroid detection network is in place, let's have a moratorium on these Starlink things.
Re:Starlink satellites hindering detection of near-Earth ast... by cute_boi on Friday January 21, 2022 @09:13AM (#30023709)
To me, internet doesn't means "Instagram and TikTok videos". And, we should focus on how to solve this asteroid detection issue, that doesn't mean we should dismiss whole idea.
Re:Starlink satellites hindering detection of near-Earth ast... by shaklee3 on Saturday January 22, 2022 @12:49AM (#30034033)
India is an extremely poor example since the other 59% can't afford $100/mo. and keep in mind the terminal cost for them is extremely high still.