Le 02/10/2023 à 14:27, Michael Richardson via Starlink a écrit :
Ulrich Speidel via Starlink <[email protected]> wrote:
> In the case of Starlink, there is also the minor issue that their initial
> constellation that they started commercial ops with isn't ISL-capable, so
> there may be an incentive here to retire some satellites early, perhaps,
and
> fill their orbital slots with more capable birds.
I think that it falls into the fail-early dot-com mantra :-)
Shorter lifetimes means shorter times to upgrade the network.
Not just the ISL, but also the rest of the forwarding hardware.
Given that spaceX is putting these satellites up at marginal launch costs,
and I think getting a very very significant R&D and publicity boost from the
very rapid pace of launches and booster reuses, it seems like it's just a
win-win-win.
I think it is excellent that a LEO constellation can be upgraded that
fast. It means there will be an ever improved service to end users.
This reliable launch frequency, orbiting, de-orbiting, are extraordinary
technical achievements.
However, as with everything, one should also think about the
inconvenients. It can't simply be a win-win-win, without someone to
loose something.
Probably one of the inconvenients is the additional risks involved by
re-entry, new collision avoidance necessities, and sky observation
blockage. There is also the risk of some unwanted collision hapening up
there but deemed as wanted by some. It is new unknowns - says a
non-expert - that we add to the already shaky overall system. They
should not be overlooked.
True too: probably it is the technology too that might help alleviate
these potential problems (if problems they are), and not the lack of
technology.
Alex
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