I remember this look into the company from a year ago and the company doesn't really make the best arguments for the operation. It's little more than a convoluted and inefficient process to get 10...
I remember this look into the company from a year ago and the company doesn't really make the best arguments for the operation. It's little more than a convoluted and inefficient process to get 10 nuclear power plants.
To be most charitable, this could be one of those stepping stone technologies that might lead to something far more practical down the line. Sunlight is technically a signal and there plenty of value across the EM spectrum. Simplist solution would be to ship them off to supplement power generation on the moon or Mars. Or the orbital arrays can be reconfigured for interplanetary data transfers. Or its the building blocks for orbital billboards that will be promising cheap relief to weary space travelers.
It does ultimately feel like wasted resources given the state of... everything and the project seems more concerned with the optics of being an "infinite growth space company". I'd say it's a few steps below OceanGate where it does genuinely have the potential to do some real environmental harm or even be weaponized against critical infrastructure or agriculture. Or as we've seen in Ukraine, it can just be used on the whims of a techbro or dictator without considering the implications on normal people.
Speaking about non-viable startups, that was a dime a dozen in the 2010s. Smart street lights. Smart carpets. Smart tattoos. Crypto banks that are illigal almost everywhere on earth. My favorite was a smart chicken farm system with all the ways to optimize every hour of a chickens life for growth. And it was on the verge of working, just before the founders pivoted to agriculture blockchain technology.
My question is how precise of a spot size do they expect to be able to resolve? Focusing light to a small range is made a bit difficult by wave diffraction effects. Its not necessarily infeasible,...
My question is how precise of a spot size do they expect to be able to resolve?
Focusing light to a small range is made a bit difficult by wave diffraction effects. Its not necessarily infeasible, but I wonder if they have done the math to figure out how many mirrors over how big a range would be necessary to illuminate, say, a single football field to daylight conditions.
I also wonder how well such an array would be able to illuminate multiple scattered locations at once. I guess with holographic mirrors they could be configured to target multiple points, but youd still be splitting the power by doing that, so each new customer would require more mirrors to catch more light.
On their website, they claim to be targeting a “precise” 5km range. That changes my opinion entirely. When I thought it could target like a 5m radius, I could see some helpful uses. But at 5km, I...
On their website, they claim to be targeting a “precise” 5km range.
That changes my opinion entirely. When I thought it could target like a 5m radius, I could see some helpful uses. But at 5km, I can’t see any use for these outside solar farms. And we still have so much space to install solar panels on earth, is making them slightly more efficient really a better option than just building a few more and some batteries?
Surprisingly possible. They redirect solar beams to on the ground areas for power generation, construction lighting, can also aid farming in areas with too little sunlight. It's a fascinating...
Surprisingly possible. They redirect solar beams to on the ground areas for power generation, construction lighting, can also aid farming in areas with too little sunlight. It's a fascinating idea, and an idea that I support scientifically, commercially I would have to see it in action and gauge if it causes meaningful nighttime light pollution.
I mean I think the idea is cool. It's the 30,000 extra satellites in orbit which makes me uncomfortable. We've got enough crap in orbit and it's only going to get worse.
I mean I think the idea is cool. It's the 30,000 extra satellites in orbit which makes me uncomfortable. We've got enough crap in orbit and it's only going to get worse.
We've indeed got more than enough crap in orbit, and I have several astronomer friends who curse every time a Starlink flies over head. And those satellites weren't built to shine light on things.
We've indeed got more than enough crap in orbit, and I have several astronomer friends who curse every time a Starlink flies over head. And those satellites weren't built to shine light on things.
L1-L5 is massive amount of room, we barely have anything up there. The problem rests on low earth orbit satellites, mainly for communication. These iirc can fit comfortable in the L2-L3 range...
L1-L5 is massive amount of room, we barely have anything up there. The problem rests on low earth orbit satellites, mainly for communication.
These iirc can fit comfortable in the L2-L3 range which isn't even noticeable.
Given the website is already vying for military attention, my worry about it being misused is substantially outweighing any of my delight at the positive possibilities. I’m just imagining the...
Given the website is already vying for military attention, my worry about it being misused is substantially outweighing any of my delight at the positive possibilities.
I’m just imagining the catastrophic results of sudden daylight brightness on a 5km length of freeway at night, or an airport or dock, or just randomly in population centres every night for a week in the lead up to a military invasion so that everyone is sleep deprived, or a dozen other applications I can think of.
I really hope these guys will make it, only because it'll be incredibly funny when their infrastructure inevitably gets hacked and we're getting disco ball earth for a night
I really hope these guys will make it, only because it'll be incredibly funny when their infrastructure inevitably gets hacked and we're getting disco ball earth for a night
They want to put 30,000+ satellites with mirrors in orbit in the next 10 years to allow... Anyone with an app? To direct a spot of sunlight with an adjustable diameter and intensity to anywhere on...
They want to put 30,000+ satellites with mirrors in orbit in the next 10 years to allow... Anyone with an app? To direct a spot of sunlight with an adjustable diameter and intensity to anywhere on Earth at any time.
So like, you out at 2am drunk and lost your keys outside the bar? No probs, just order a spot or sunlight to your location!
I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the bar-going person losing their keys isn't their target demographic. They're going for the bar owner, no scratch that, the billionaire owning the real...
I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the bar-going person losing their keys isn't their target demographic. They're going for the bar owner, no scratch that, the billionaire owning the real estate in the neighbourhood the bar is operating in.
This is a weird mix of hilarious and kinda sorta maybe viable. How many countries are going to approve people being able to arbitrarily light up the night and otherwise cause chaos on demand?...
This is a weird mix of hilarious and kinda sorta maybe viable. How many countries are going to approve people being able to arbitrarily light up the night and otherwise cause chaos on demand? Seems like a risky bet to launch a bunch of satellites and then get regulated into oblivion after the fact (and rightly so).
Something I don't know whether people have considered; This network of satellites is essentially a directed energy weapon against anything else in orbit. It's non-destructive, but also satellites...
Something I don't know whether people have considered; This network of satellites is essentially a directed energy weapon against anything else in orbit. It's non-destructive, but also satellites aren't necessarily designed to handle a lot of extra energy being pumped into them. Even if it's a temporary disruption while the cooling systems resolve the situation, being able to turn off other people's satellites on command is the sort of power pretty much monopolized by the largest powers.
That's the basic premise of a Bond movie as far as I remember it!
I remember this look into the company from a year ago and the company doesn't really make the best arguments for the operation. It's little more than a convoluted and inefficient process to get 10 nuclear power plants.
To be most charitable, this could be one of those stepping stone technologies that might lead to something far more practical down the line. Sunlight is technically a signal and there plenty of value across the EM spectrum. Simplist solution would be to ship them off to supplement power generation on the moon or Mars. Or the orbital arrays can be reconfigured for interplanetary data transfers. Or its the building blocks for orbital billboards that will be promising cheap relief to weary space travelers.
It does ultimately feel like wasted resources given the state of... everything and the project seems more concerned with the optics of being an "infinite growth space company". I'd say it's a few steps below OceanGate where it does genuinely have the potential to do some real environmental harm or even be weaponized against critical infrastructure or agriculture. Or as we've seen in Ukraine, it can just be used on the whims of a techbro or dictator without considering the implications on normal people.
Speaking about non-viable startups, that was a dime a dozen in the 2010s. Smart street lights. Smart carpets. Smart tattoos. Crypto banks that are illigal almost everywhere on earth. My favorite was a smart chicken farm system with all the ways to optimize every hour of a chickens life for growth. And it was on the verge of working, just before the founders pivoted to agriculture blockchain technology.
That smart chicken farm mention caught my interest. Do you know where I can read up on it?
The absolute worst was that fucking bullshit solar roadways thing that somehow managed to become a meme in a non-derogatory way.
Please contribute any startups you know of that are similarly baffling, or maybe help me understand why this has received money from someone.
My question is how precise of a spot size do they expect to be able to resolve?
Focusing light to a small range is made a bit difficult by wave diffraction effects. Its not necessarily infeasible, but I wonder if they have done the math to figure out how many mirrors over how big a range would be necessary to illuminate, say, a single football field to daylight conditions.
I also wonder how well such an array would be able to illuminate multiple scattered locations at once. I guess with holographic mirrors they could be configured to target multiple points, but youd still be splitting the power by doing that, so each new customer would require more mirrors to catch more light.
On their website, they claim to be targeting a “precise” 5km range.
That changes my opinion entirely. When I thought it could target like a 5m radius, I could see some helpful uses. But at 5km, I can’t see any use for these outside solar farms. And we still have so much space to install solar panels on earth, is making them slightly more efficient really a better option than just building a few more and some batteries?
5 km is useful for sporting events like the Olympics or World Cup.
Surprisingly possible. They redirect solar beams to on the ground areas for power generation, construction lighting, can also aid farming in areas with too little sunlight. It's a fascinating idea, and an idea that I support scientifically, commercially I would have to see it in action and gauge if it causes meaningful nighttime light pollution.
I mean I think the idea is cool. It's the 30,000 extra satellites in orbit which makes me uncomfortable. We've got enough crap in orbit and it's only going to get worse.
Yeah, FWIW, there are "only" ~16,000 satellites in orbit right now (with 10,000 of those being Starlink...)
We've indeed got more than enough crap in orbit, and I have several astronomer friends who curse every time a Starlink flies over head. And those satellites weren't built to shine light on things.
L1-L5 is massive amount of room, we barely have anything up there. The problem rests on low earth orbit satellites, mainly for communication.
These iirc can fit comfortable in the L2-L3 range which isn't even noticeable.
Has there been actual demonstrations of doing this? Im somewhat skeptical of the engineering requirements behind such a setup.
Given the website is already vying for military attention, my worry about it being misused is substantially outweighing any of my delight at the positive possibilities.
I’m just imagining the catastrophic results of sudden daylight brightness on a 5km length of freeway at night, or an airport or dock, or just randomly in population centres every night for a week in the lead up to a military invasion so that everyone is sleep deprived, or a dozen other applications I can think of.
I really hope these guys will make it, only because it'll be incredibly funny when their infrastructure inevitably gets hacked and we're getting disco ball earth for a night
🎵disco inferno🎶
You were supposed to cool the earth and fight global warming, not heat it up (much less burn it up). This will end in tears
I have no idea what they do, even though I read what was on the page. What do they do???
They want to put 30,000+ satellites with mirrors in orbit in the next 10 years to allow... Anyone with an app? To direct a spot of sunlight with an adjustable diameter and intensity to anywhere on Earth at any time.
So like, you out at 2am drunk and lost your keys outside the bar? No probs, just order a spot or sunlight to your location!
I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the bar-going person losing their keys isn't their target demographic. They're going for the bar owner, no scratch that, the billionaire owning the real estate in the neighbourhood the bar is operating in.
What happens during cloudy weather?
This is a weird mix of hilarious and kinda sorta maybe viable. How many countries are going to approve people being able to arbitrarily light up the night and otherwise cause chaos on demand? Seems like a risky bet to launch a bunch of satellites and then get regulated into oblivion after the fact (and rightly so).
Something I don't know whether people have considered; This network of satellites is essentially a directed energy weapon against anything else in orbit. It's non-destructive, but also satellites aren't necessarily designed to handle a lot of extra energy being pumped into them. Even if it's a temporary disruption while the cooling systems resolve the situation, being able to turn off other people's satellites on command is the sort of power pretty much monopolized by the largest powers.