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k_mainer OP t1_j8udcfa wrote

Reply to comment by TheMrGUnit in I, too saw the Musk satellite stream. I’m concerned we will one day look up and see advertising instead of points of light. by k_mainer

Ok. Thank you… thumb up…breathing. I’ll take a minute to fact check your response. Meanwhile, do you believe the machine of commerce will not overcome this obstacle?

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tehmightyengineer t1_j8vfo52 wrote

In the past 5 years two organizations have launched temporary satellites designed specifically to reflect light. One was somewhat dim and the other wasn't deployed in time due to a government shutdown and could not be seen.

That said, there's generally not been any outcry because nobody has really done anything that disruptive (these sats were small points of light), but it's pretty well understood that the first organization that functionally changes the night sky for some commercial purposes will receive nothing but bad publicity from it. So I doubt anyone will actually do it.

SpaceX sats are specifically designed to not reflect light when in position specifically because of the backlash over the number of them. Currently they still mess with astronomy to some degree but they're not going to be visible when in their final orbit. Most anyone else launching sats will do the same.

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BackItUpWithLinks t1_j8uex0g wrote

I wish I could be there to see your face when you read below.

> Right now there are 3,580 starlink satellites. In total, nearly 12,000 satellites are planned to be deployed, with a possible later extension to 42,000.

> https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starlink

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k_mainer OP t1_j8ufwst wrote

Are you not concerned? I’ve never identified as a Luddite… but am I?

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