Meanwhile, space networks have enabled global communications, global rescue, and global positioning. All exceptionally important mechanisms, arguably, more important than using one of several possible mechanisms to fight a flu.
Given that there were many other possible mechanisms at our disposal, the desire to push mRNA technology on everyone might be considered a medical technology fetishism of it's own.
Improved global shipping (reduced costs, increased safety, etc). Improve global crop yields with understanding planting times, harvest times, etc. Reduced geopolitical tensions (way less secrets, no more dangerous airplane overflights, ability to monitor compliance remotely). Enabled safer air travel (weather satellites, ADS-B). Understand global warming (using monitoring satellites). Made archeological discoveries. Helped fight poaching in Africa.
These are a few of the outcomes I know off the top of my head. But yes, what have aerospace programs done for anyone?
The billions of people whose food and personal safety rely on data from weather satellites should at least count a bit above "very little".
So do the people like me who can't use a paper map to save their lives, and for which GNSS has been a life-changer in their ordinary life.
Global internet coverage would be amazing, and definitely something I and many others would consider worth it. Not just for people to browse Twitter/TikTok/social media, but for access to things like Wikipedia and various other knowledge-bases, and communication protocols.
Megalopolis are only getting bigger. Like luxury EVs , starlink is aimed at the particular preferences of the RV crowd and the yacht crowd.
Improving the quality of life of the avg. consumer is never the goal. The goal is to have rich people get excited about some luxury product so that they immediately log on their Fidelity account and buy the stock of the company which puts itself out there as the so called leader in that luxury product niche.
It turns out that too much optimism about the future can damage an economy just as much as not enough faith in the future. This is exactly what has happened with the "everything bubble".
SpaceX is not a publicly traded company so the specific way you've chosen to express your cynicism (this is just for pumping stock prices!) isn't even applicable.
Starlink might eventually be spun off into a separate publicly traded company - some statements to this effect have been made - but that's not what's happening right now.
I don't think it matters. TikTok isn't traded either but equity price is pumped up anyways.
Likewise Brad Pitt is not publicly traded but the excitement that people have for him prompts Tag Heur to pay him millions for a picture wearing one of their watches.
Finally everybody and their brother knows that Tesla and all the other BS vaporware companies under the same ownership are gonna merge at some point and be listed.
I don't see how your comment on megacities aligns with the other comment about enhanced communications. How is Lagos "ahead"?
Satellite internet only makes sense if people are scattered around, but we are seeing the opposite phenomenon both in the developed world as well as the developing world.
Even hipsters are moving from LA to Portland not from LA to some small town with population of 500.