Re:SpaceX – Starfall
by itishappy on Wednesday November 04, 2026 @08:13PM
(#50373753)
You're not wrong! It looks that way because it falls from space; it's a reentry vehicle. You put this thing in a low orbit which decays over the course of a few weeks until it eventually deorbits, then you get to go find it.
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Re:SpaceX – Starfall
by bamboozled on Wednesday November 04, 2026 @09:14PM
(#50374252)
Doesn't sound dangerous at all.
Re:SpaceX – Starfall
by Pedro_Ribeiro on Wednesday November 04, 2026 @09:31PM
(#50374377)
You realize they know how to land these things right? Are you aware?
Re:SpaceX – Starfall
by bamboozled on Thursday November 05, 2026 @08:42AM
(#50378959)
I trust government agencies who are doing these things for science and research to do it safely, private companies owned by conmen who are probably operating under presidential pardons, not really.
Dropping stuff from space is inherently dangerous. Huge amounts of effort go into making it safe.
Re:SpaceX – Starfall
by bamboozled on Thursday November 05, 2026 @03:24AM
(#50376603)
So you think these things will be delivered to new york ?
Not intentionally, of course, but they will be flying directly overhead!
They have thrusters and do controlled re-entry, at a location of their choosing.
The uppermost parts of the atmosphere are very dynamic, with changes in solar activity causing them to contract and expand on a scale of hours. And this is very significant for the amount of drag felt by re-entering objects. Because of this, if you slowly deorbit something naturally through drag, you are not going to be able to pick the destination, or even know where it ends up until very close to it falling down. So instead you intentionally lower the perigee so that it deorbits in a controlled manner.