1167
top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old

we should probably invest in making sure people have affordable housing, food, and healthcare before worrying about militarising space.

[-] technocrit@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 5 days ago

Don't buy into the grifts. Dismantle them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goh2x_G0ct4

[-] theunknownmuncher@lemmy.world 293 points 1 week ago

Yeah I mean the tax payers have literally already paid for all of both SpaceX and Starlink. The public paid for it, the public should own it.

[-] bulwark@lemmy.world 94 points 1 week ago

They're just following in the footsteps of Comcast. The FCC gave SpaceX/Starlink $885.5 million to provide rural broadband after they gave Comcast over $1 billion less than 5 years ago to do the same thing. Starlink actually works out there from what I understand, so I guess that's something.

[-] Ohmmy@lemmy.dbzer0.com 110 points 1 week ago

The main problem is that starlink is not a viable ISP like Comcast. Relying on low earth orbit is extremely wasteful as you need to constantly launch more and more satellites. Starlink gives their satellites a 5 year lifespan where fiber can go on for 40 years or more. There are 7,500 starlink satellites, so we're talking a constant replacement of satellites all falling into earth's atmosphere, not being recycled.

Starlink is literal space trash waiting to happen.

[-] bulwark@lemmy.world 63 points 1 week ago

I didn't realize how temporary and disposable Starlink's satellites were. They incinerate 4 or 5 a day by de-orbiting them into the ozone. Here's a pretty good CNET article that talks about how they “dispose” of them. IDK, doesn't seem sustainable. They also mention the bandwidth gains are being diminished with the influx of new users, so their solution is more temporary satellites.

load more comments (8 replies)
[-] Thorry84@feddit.nl 30 points 1 week ago

You are right in how wasteful it is, especially since it turned out a lot of those satellites don't even make it to 4 years.

However there is zero risk of space trash with Starlink. They orbit so low, it's basically within the atmosphere still. They need to constantly boost themselves, otherwise they fall down and burn up. So these satellites are coming down within years all on their own, even without any controlled disposal.

It's insanely wasteful, but it keeps SpaceX in business launching every week, which is kind of the point. But at least there isn't a Kessler syndrome waiting to happen.

[-] trailee@sh.itjust.works 30 points 1 week ago

Even though it’s not a space trash problem, it is a regular upper atmosphere polluter of aluminum oxide ash. We don’t yet know the long term consequences.

load more comments (2 replies)
load more comments (22 replies)
load more comments (2 replies)
[-] Blackmist@feddit.uk 142 points 1 week ago

You could always just fund the space agency you already have, instead of funneling money to a foreign billionaire.

[-] TronBronson@lemmy.world 72 points 1 week ago

No this the one time I’m with the commies. Nationalize that shit. Like you said it’s all taxpayer money anyway. A little bit of Wall Street speculation, but who gives a fuck about those people

[-] A_norny_mousse@feddit.org 23 points 1 week ago

it’s all taxpayer money anyway

Good point.

load more comments (36 replies)
load more comments (11 replies)
[-] Deflated0ne@lemmy.world 102 points 1 week ago

Has anyone considered funding NASA?

They made rockets that didn't explode with duct tape and a TI-83 calculator.

[-] Uruanna@lemmy.world 34 points 1 week ago

Shouldn't be incompatible with nationalizing SpaceX and Starlink. Just give it all to NASA, actually.

load more comments (4 replies)
[-] Brkdncr@lemmy.world 98 points 1 week ago
load more comments (1 replies)
[-] the_crotch@sh.itjust.works 77 points 1 week ago

Yeah, let's give the trump administration the power to seize companies it doesn't like, that is a great idea that def won't be abused all the time

[-] technocrit@lemmy.dbzer0.com 28 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

The author probably forgot who runs the nation of usa.

load more comments (1 replies)
[-] eugenevdebs@lemmy.dbzer0.com 21 points 1 week ago

Congress has always had this power. I'm personally for nationalizing telecomm companies.

load more comments (1 replies)
[-] barneypiccolo@lemm.ee 20 points 1 week ago

We no longer live in a world where our biggest fear would be the government controlling high level corporations and their operators.

We now live in a world controlled by Sociopathic Oligarchs who can afford to create government level technology. Right now it's mostly tourism rockets and satellites, but now we see Skum weaponizing that technology, and/or using it as a bargaining chip. He has cut off Starlink in a war zone to benefit the county who defers to him, but is openly hostile to the US, and now he's threatening to cut off our access to the space station. He is using tech that WE PAY FOR with government contracts and grants, to pursue his own diplomacy, for his own benefit, and against our interests.

Eventually, someone will start building and stockpiling actual weapons, perhaps even atomics. Then we will be asking why someone didn't step in and stop them before they became a bonafide threat.

We paid for Skum's technology, and he gets to control it as a courtesy. Just the threat of using it against us should be enough reason to declare him a national security threat, confiscate his American-taxpayer financed businesses, and imprison him.

load more comments (3 replies)
load more comments (3 replies)
[-] Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world 56 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

See what we should do......is look to the french for inspiration on guillotine designs. Why would anyone not want to get rid of this asshole? Why would anyone like him?

[-] Grizzlyboy@lemmy.zip 45 points 1 week ago

I don’t think the majority of Americans understand what that means. They’ll just scream “commies!” And raise their maga flag.

But the idea of a starlink-like business owned by UN would be nice, and not an American corporation owned by a nepobaby Elmo.

[-] AdamEatsAss@lemmy.world 26 points 1 week ago

In the USA space-x gets away with a lot. A few years ago they announced they were no longer going to bother with getting all the FAA approvals needed for their rockets because it took too long. Space-x still got government contracts.

[-] Zron@lemmy.world 27 points 1 week ago

If your want proof that the wealthy live by a different set of laws, look no further than the time Elon Musk, ceo of SpaceX, went on a podcast and smoked weed.

SpaceX has DOD contracts for launches, and somehow him blatantly violating federal law had no impact on the contracts his company fulfilled for the government.

Do I think weed should be classified like it is? No.

Do I think that everyone should be held to the same standard? Yes. And if anyone else had been involved in government projects while going on podcasts and smoking weed, they’d at the very least be fired.

load more comments (2 replies)
load more comments (5 replies)
[-] blindbunny@lemmy.ml 38 points 1 week ago

Giving companies to the state doesn't always work well. However giving companies to the workers does.

load more comments (8 replies)
[-] drmoose@lemmy.world 38 points 1 week ago

Has US nationalized anything this millenia? I really don't see that ever happening

load more comments (7 replies)
[-] RhondaSandTits@lemmy.sdf.org 31 points 1 week ago

Don't give bail-outs to billionaires.

load more comments (1 replies)
[-] postmateDumbass@lemmy.world 31 points 1 week ago

Arrest Musk on violation of controlled substances acts, file immigration violation charges, invalidate his ownership shares due to securities fraud, as he falsified education and naturalization forms.

Or just emminent domain the shit. The Law is just made up right now.

load more comments (1 replies)
[-] hexonxonx@lemmy.dbzer0.com 30 points 1 week ago

Starlink should be globalized. A planet only needs one low-altitude orbiting communications network. Better to standardize the technology and platform and let them contribute to one system than to have a dozen identical competing systems crashing into each other and fucking things up for everyone.

load more comments (2 replies)
[-] gian@lemmy.grys.it 28 points 1 week ago

I would suggest that maybe you should leave SpaceX alone, if you want to still have a space program.

Maybe think about to nationalize healthcare insurance, it seems to be something more usefull

load more comments (10 replies)
[-] Iheartcheese@lemmy.world 28 points 1 week ago

Oh my god, please. Just to see the temper tantrum from Musk.

[-] SpicyLizards@reddthat.com 24 points 1 week ago

Never gonna happen under republicans... or dems as they are sell outs too.

load more comments (1 replies)
[-] Redjard@lemmy.dbzer0.com 23 points 1 week ago

Starlink should not just be nationalized but internationalized.
It is internet for everyone on earth, not everyone in the USA.

Every larger nation deploying their own constellation would be a pointless waste of resources, and every smaller nation having to find reliable partner-nations to tap into for that internet access would inevitably lead to people ending up without access due to political games.

Low orbit satellite constellations are the perfect candidate for sharing, they would literally sit unused over most of their orbits otherwise.

load more comments (4 replies)
[-] QuoVadisHomines@sh.itjust.works 22 points 1 week ago

If not Musk should be forced from his roles in these companies. You cannot be a defense contractor and do ketamine.

load more comments (1 replies)
[-] mojofrododojo@lemmy.world 21 points 1 week ago

I've been saying this for years. the footprint that spaceX represents in national launch authority is out of whack to say the least.

load more comments (3 replies)
[-] Darleys_Brew@lemmy.ml 20 points 1 week ago

We? No. USA can if it wants that shit.

[-] Burghler@sh.itjust.works 20 points 1 week ago

American exceptionalism is so fucking annoying. Their country is failing to a point hopefully this first person shit rightfully corrects to third person.

load more comments (7 replies)
load more comments (3 replies)
[-] reksas@sopuli.xyz 20 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Just having such wealth and thus power in hands of singular humans is risk to all of humanity. With musk you are but big enough drug fueled temper tantrum away from pretty important infrastructure coming crashing down.

load more comments
view more: next ›
this post was submitted on 07 Jun 2025
1167 points (100.0% liked)

Technology

71502 readers
4599 users here now

This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.


Our Rules


  1. Follow the lemmy.world rules.
  2. Only tech related news or articles.
  3. Be excellent to each other!
  4. Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
  5. Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
  6. Politics threads may be removed.
  7. No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
  8. Only approved bots from the list below, this includes using AI responses and summaries. To ask if your bot can be added please contact a mod.
  9. Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed
  10. Accounts 7 days and younger will have their posts automatically removed.

Approved Bots


founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS