Amazon's Project Kuiper, which uses optical inter-satellite link (OISL) technology to connect more than 3,000 satellites in a mesh network that blankets Earth, just cleared a final hurdle needed to launch next year.

Project Kuiper: Amazon’s answer to SpaceX’s Starlink passes ‘crucial’ test::Amazon’s Project Kuiper, which uses optical inter-satellite link (OISL) technology to connect more than 3,000 satellites in a mesh network that blankets Earth, just cleared a final hurdle needed to launch next year.

  • WhatAmLemmy@lemmy.worldEnglish
    111·
    6 months ago

    What happens when China and Russia send up their own constellations? How many companies and governments are allowed to launch their own? Every new constellation significantly increases the chances of a kessler syndrome in LEO, for minimal gain, beyond maybe 2 for redundancy.

    • jantin@lemmy.worldEnglish
      14·
      6 months ago

      Musky and Bezos are probably well aware of this so they happily pour billions into these systems. Whoever gets them up first is essentially taking up space others may want to use later on. The endgame is probably “make the world dependent on MY sat system and hike rates”. And if the countries wanted to lay cable? Force the world to bail me when the overblown constellations collapse financially - basically make the kessler the future authorities’ problem. Privatise profits, socialise losses, fuck everyone else because I got mine. If things go well the men in charge won’t even be alive anymore when shit hits the fan.

    • Syntha@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      7·
      6 months ago

      There is no real danger of Kessler syndrome because these satellites burn up in the atmosphere after a few years anyways.

    • wahming@monyet.ccEnglish
      2·
      6 months ago

      There are reasons to be concerned about the situation. Kessler syndrome is not one of them, not in LEO