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Comment by RedShift1 | Hacker News Reader

This is bad. This is really really bad. The EU has invested billions in telescopes and that's now going to go to waste. Instead advancing human knowledge it's just going to fill rich guy pockets even more.

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> Instead advancing human knowledge it's just going to fill rich guy pockets even more.

Isnt Elon helping to advance human knowledge as well?

Not really?

Making space flight cheaper and more reliable certainly helps advance human knowledge in my opinion.

Spaceflight wouldn't be there in the first place if astronomical observations didn't help generations of scientists (including Kepler, Newton and Oberth) evolve the concepts of astrodynamics. Astronomy is far from having given up all its secrets - many of which will surely be applied in everyday life some time in the future. Besides, nobody would be complaining if this was about making spaceflight cheaper. This is about commercial exploitation of space by destroying a scientific resource. As others mentioned, there are easier ways to bring internet to rural areas - if only there was social resolve. This is more about worldwide internet controlled by a few big corporations.

Powered flight wouldn't be there if not for generations of people playing with kites. That doesn't mean we should abolish airports because they take the prime spots for kiting.

No, it’s not.

Starlink satellites are only visible at dusk and dawn, they are in the earths shadow during prime viewing hours.

And SoaceX has already added visors to make new Starlink satellites nearly invisible.

All 30-50k satellites? SpaceX and Amazon are sending stuff up now. I expect these numbers to multiply quickly. And not just with US satellites. China and other nations might just send similar numbers up

> nearly invisible

In what wavelengths?

In all the best wavelengths first dawn/dusk observations.

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