SpaceX satellites' effect on night sky can't be eliminated, astronomers say:
Broadband satellites being launched by SpaceX and other companies will inevitably have a negative impact on astronomers' ability to observe the night sky, according to a new report by astronomers. There are no mitigation strategies that can completely eliminate the satellites' impact on astronomical observations—other than not launching satellites at all—but the report includes recommendations for how satellite operators can minimize disruption and how observatories can adjust to the changes.
The report released this week is titled, "Impact of Satellite Constellations on Optical Astronomy and Recommendations Toward Mitigations."
(Score: 2, Insightful) by khallow on Saturday August 29 2020, @04:36PM (2 children)
We've already spent far more than what would be needed for observatories on the far side of the Moon. It's not lack of funding holding us back, but that MIC. Just as in the military proper, there's plenty of spending, but it's inefficient on a scale that will be hard for future doddering bureaucracies to match.
Unfortunately, a great example of the MIC in action. How many James Webb telescopes could they have launched for the price of this one?
(Score: 3, Interesting) by sgleysti on Sunday August 30 2020, @03:09AM (1 child)
I find all the cost overruns and delays unsurprising given the incredible technical complexity involved.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Sunday August 30 2020, @04:46AM
A particularly glaring example of this was a NASA study on the development of the Falcon 9 vehicle which found that NASA would have priced the development of the vehicle for ten times [soylentnews.org] what SpaceX actually spent on it! That's not counting the inevitable cost overruns and delays which SpaceX experienced and NASA would have yet to experience!
In the past, I've been accused of NASA bashing. But stuff like this happened throughout NASA's existence. It's not a fluke.